Wings of Seraph
by liexi
Summary: In the world of Varld, there exists three areas: Aincrad, Yggdrasil, and the Realm and three main races: humans, elves, and half elves, peace and mana run abundant in this paradise. Within Varld there is a story of a certain guild, a guild known as the Wings of Seraph, and the thirteen warriors within that guild. AU. KiritoXHarem. Black Swordsman Rewrite
1. Our Story Begins

_Varld._

_The world created by the God and his angels._

_A world that runs off of mana, the main source being the elf's pride, the World Tree._

_A world inhabited by humans, elves, and half-elves._

_A world where half-elves are hated by the majority of full blooded elves and seen as weapons by power-hungry humans._

_Because of this the world is split into three noticeable regions._

_The first region is the land of humans and the only place half-elves can live happily, Aincard. Made up of large towns and other geographic regions, this is the most populated land. It uses the plentiful power source of mana to run electronics._

_The second region is the land of the elves, Yggdrasil. A forest region where elves live in harmony among the animals and plants, one with nature. They fiercely guard the World Tree, the main source of mana. Humans are not allowed without permission from the leader and half-elves are killed if they step onto land without an escort._

_The third area is the Realm, but this land remains a mystery._

_This is the world where the remarkable story of thirteen warriors will be told. The story of..._

_The Wings of Seraph._

* * *

A warehouse, rusted with age and long abandoned, stood in a junkyard. A young woman crouched in a nearby ditch. Her chestnut hair trailed behind her as she looked at the site. Four figures crouched behind her in a line. "So is this the area?"

One of the figures, a young man with pointed ears, walked in front of the girl. He brushed a lock of his black hair aside as he looked into a pair of binoculars. "Yeah, that's it Asuna. I can see some activity inside."

Asuna nodded and turned back to her teammates. "So, does everyone remember the plan?"

One of them, a dark-skinned boy with dreads, smirked. "Just go in and take them out, right? Not hard to remember."

A girl next to him slapped him behind the head, causing her hair, black with red highlights, to move as well. "Leo you Idiot! We do that and we'll be killed!"

As Leo growled at her, a red-haired man stepped forward and looked at Asuna. "We're going to sneak in, right? Lyfa, Eugeo, and Yuuki are going to set jammers around the area to knock out any radio signals that could detect us and will also take care of the guards that could spot us."

The black-haired boy set down his binoculars. "Then we sneak in as a team of five. Argo and Sinon will enter in another way and stay hidden until your signal."

"Right!" Asuna looked back towards everybody. It was clear that she was the leader. "But remember! They have hostages, so we need to be careful not to attack them as well."

"Tell that to Jade here…" Leo turned and grinned at Jade, the girl with black hair and red highlights. "She was the one who attacked them last time."

Jade picked up her guitar and swung it at Leo, nearly taking off his head.

"Hey watch where you're swinging that freaking thing!"

Jade glared at Leo, her guitar ready for another swing. "How the _hell _was I supposed to know who wasn't a hostage?! They had a hypnotizer! _Everyone_ was attacking us!"

A voice crackled over everyone's earpiece. _"Could you all please keep it down? We can still hear you over the headset. Especially you, Leo."_

Asuna pressed her earpiece, speaking into it. "Eugeo! Are the jammers in place?"

"_Yeah, Lyfa just planted the last one and Yuuki's handled the last group of thugs. You all can move in now. Sinon and Argo have already gone ahead." _

A smile formed on Asuna's face. "Alright, we're moving in right now. Keep an eye out for any other thugs and we'll keep you posted."

"_Roger." _A short burst of static sounded from the earpiece and the line was cut.

Asuna turned back towards her companions with a determined expression. "Alright let's take these thugs out and save as many hostages as we can." She sent a pointed look towards Jade and Leo. "And you two. Keep your squabbles to yourselves. Now, let's go!"

And with that, the five approached the warehouse.

* * *

BAM!

A body fell to the hard concrete floor, blood oozing from its head. Cruel laughter echoed through the warehouse as a group of cloaked men watched. Thugs, the lot of them.

One walked up to the corpse, his face covered by a menacing skull mask. A gun was in his hand, still dripping of used mana.

"What a fucker! Couldn't pay his debt and got his bitch and runt in trouble!"

More cruel laughter. The other thugs looked on in the back, many laughing at his comment. The sounds being heard even outside as two thugs came, picking up the body

"Daddy!"

The masked thug growled. "Someone shut that brat up! She's starting to piss me off!"

One of the thugs snarled. "Been fucking trying! This crap ain't easy!"

"Can't do shit right! Why did boss hire you again?!"

BANG!

The masked thug fell to the ground clutching his leg. "SHIT!"

"What have I told you about questioning my decisions?"

The gang members stiffened in fear, looking up at the stairs leading to the top floor.

It was an elf, his pointed ears showing his lineage. His chest was bare, the scarred muscular build clear to all who could see. His pants were torn and ripped, as if they couldn't contain his own strength.

He was the boss. And he was annoyed.

His heavy steps shook the staircase as he approached the downed thug, a shotgun smoking in his right hand.

The thug yelped and scrambled backwards in fear. "B-Boss! I didn't mean to anger you!"

The large elf narrowed his eyes. He lifted his giant leg...

"GWWWWAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

…and slammed it down on the man's injured leg.

The sharp crack of bone breaking and the pain-filled scream caused the others to wince.

The muscular elf leaned, putting more pressure on his henchmen's leg. "Well you did. Now you know the consequences." The elf leaned even closer until his breath was rasping against his henchmen's face. "Now, what's this I hear about our missing cargo?"

The henchmen's eyes widened in fear. "B-Boss, please! W-we were jumped by a guild! They, they took it from us! I'm begging you, please spare-"

"Shut up."

Everyone jumped at the gunshot. They looked on in fear as the henchmen's head slammed against the ground, blood trailing from his head.

The elf spat and turned around, shotgun slung over his shoulder.

"Now let this be an example to you all! If you fail me again or dare question my decision making, you'll end up like this piece of shit here! Do I make myself clear?!"

He received fearful nods in response. Even from the child, too scared to do more than shiver in fear as the man looked at her.

"What's this brat still doing alive?" The elf growled and stepped towards the child. "Damn it, I'll kill her myself!" He brought his gun down and took aim. A scream and then-

"That's enough."

"Tch." The boss looked up towards the voice, his minions following his gaze. There, on the crossbeams, a group of people looked back.

The closest was a dark-skinned boy, glaring at the gang with furious crimson eyes. He sat on the edge, all but ready to leap down at them. His black coat was sleeveless, showing off tattooed arms. Underneath was a red shirt, matching the color of his eyes, crossed with a black X. Black cargo pants covered his legs and his outfit was finished with black and red shoes and gloves. A knife was sheathed at his back. Leo.

A elven girl sat right next to him, guitar in her hands, glaring down with angry blue eyes. She blew a strand of her black hair with red highlights out of her face. Her black shirt was short sleeved and was a little loose, showing two straps on her shoulders. Her pants were unique, being black and baggy with a belt hanging from the back loosely. She kicked her black shoes idly, while pulling strings of her guitar. Jade.

Another girl stood beside them, an unapproachable aura around her. She gazed at the thugs with contempt, her long chestnut hair moving with her as she looked at each one. A rapier rested by her waist, gleaming against her light blue robe. Her black stockings and white shoes gave her a dainty appearance but she was obviously not one to be underestimated. Asuna.

On another beam stood a man, his fiery red hair held back with a bandana. He looked to be the oldest of the group and wore heavy samurai armor. It seemed like it would slow him down but the trained eye could tell that he was comfortable with the weight. He glowered at the group of thugs with his black eyes, sneering as he drew his sword.

"Calm yourself, Klein."

"Kirito..."

Kirito shook his head and turned his unreadable grey eyes back to the gang below.

The elf growled and swung his gun up at the unexpected intruders. "Who the fuck are you?!"

"Oh?" Leo grinned at the elf. "That's how you welcome your guests? With a gun pointed at them?"

Asuna sent Leo a sharp glare. "Not now."

The elf boss snorted. "You're no guests of mine. Breaking and entering is illegal, I'll have you know."

"And killing isn't?" Kirito shook his head. "Wow, laws are really messed up these days."

"That's enough!" Asuna sent a glare at Kirito and then turned her gaze back to the elf below. "You are the Thug Lord Gerrel correct?"

Gerrel grinned. "Nice to hear my name getting out there." He laughed. "Let me guess you're here to capture me?"

Leo shrugged. "Either that or kill you. Doesn't matter much either way."

Jade nodded, surprisingly in agreement, and glared down at the thugs. "And we're really leaning towards kill after what we just saw you do. Bastard."

"Boss!" One of Gerrel's henchmen shouted, pointing at the five above. "I recognize them! They're the guild that ruined our transport!"

Gerrel's grin grew wider. "Great! Saves me the time of looking for you! I wanted to know who stopped my drug import."

The red haired samurai glared down at them. "We're here now, so neither of us has to look any further."

"Yes, but if you haven't noticed, I have a hostage." Gerrel gestured towards the young girl with his gun. She was terrified and squirmed under the strong grips of the thugs. "I can't guarantee the child's safety if you attack me."

Asuna raised an eyebrow and drew her rapier. "Oh? So you're taking hostages now? Why, can't fight fair?"

Gerrel growled and cocked his shotgun at the child. "Shut up and surrender or I'll blow this girl's fucking head off!"

Asuna didn't reply and brought her hand up to her earpiece. "Sinon. Argo. Please take care of the thugs surrounding the girl."

_"Roger."_

_"Right away, Asuna-chan!"_

Gerrel looked around in confusion before he heard two gasps from behind him. He turned around to see a throwing nail planted in the men holding the girl.

They dropped to the ground, dead.

"What the-?!"

BAM!

Gunshots echoed through the warehouse as several men fell to the ground, puddles of blood forming around their head.

Gerrel looked on in shock as his men died around him. He turned at the sound of rushing wind to see Asuna charging, rapier ready.

"Tch!" He reached behind him and drew a large combat knife to defend against the attack.

Sparks flew as the two blades met. Asuna grunted, putting more force into her lunge. She gasped as Gerrell pulled his knife to the side, causing her to spin with the momentum.

Gerrell pointed his gun at her, ready to fire.

A black and red blur appeared and Gerrell doubled over, coughing blood. Leo smirked before pulsing his hand with mana, a small flame forming around it, and pushed Gerrell into the wall with a battle cry.

He turned back and helped Asuna to her feet, a cocky grin plastered on his face. "A little too energetic there, eh leader?"

Asuna growled, a small blush on her cheeks. "Quiet Leo, I just let my guard down."

Leo opened his mouth to reply another sarcastic remark but shut it at the sound of three battle cries behind him. He turned, narrowing his red eyes as three thugs jumped at him, swords raised to cleave him in two.

He placed his hand on his dagger, ready to draw it. He didn't have to.

A guitar riff sounded in the air and lighting struck the three thugs. They screamed in pain as they were electrocuted before falling to the ground, dead.

"Watch yourself Leo!" Another riff sounded as lightning stormed on more thugs.

Leo scowled at the guitar wielding girl. "I had it under control Jade!"

"You ungrateful little…."

"Enough!" Asuna yelled, obviously annoyed. "Focus on the fight you two!"

"Tch! Fine." Leo rushed towards the crowd, rejoining the combat.

Asuna sighed and turned towards Jade. "Jade! Use a support spell on all of us!"

She nodded after taking out another thug with a blast of fire magic. "Roger!"

Asuna parried a scimitar slash and stabbed the attacker in the heart. Kirito somersaulted over her, his blades drawn, and cut down two thugs bold enough to rush him.

Jade finished her spell, the strengthening effect felt by all the members of her team.

Kirito continued his assault, glancing backwards now and then towards Gerrel, who was fighting one on one with Klein. An incoming axe forced Kirito to raise both of his swords to block, grunting with effort as he fell to his knees from the strength of the blow. He gathered his strength to push the axe away when a gunshot rang out, dropping the thug where he stood. He looked up to his left to see a shadow dashing away, but not before he could make out its light-blue hair.

"_Thanks Sinon."_

Klein and Gerrel clashed in a dance of steel. The samurai swung his blade in a heavy overhead strike. Gerrel side-stepped away from it and lashed out with his large knife. Klein jumped back, Gerrel's knife barely grazing his armor, and retaliated with a vertical slash towards Gerrel's now extended arm. The elf spun, dodging Klein's slash, and used his momentum to backhand Klein, knocking him into the wall. He raised his gun at the downed samurai, the barrel aimed at his head.

"Hah!" A voice yelled and two throwing picks found their way into Gerrel's arm, causing him to jerk and miss Klein's head by a few inches. He gave his pained arm an aggravated look before turning as he felt a breeze by his side. A claw passed by, inches from where his head was. The attacker flew past, rolling to a stop in front of Klein.

"Darn, I missed!" The female voice came from a cloaked girl with leather armor. Her short hair was auburn, framing a face with three whiskers marked on either side.

Gerrel glowered as he sensed the girl's mana signature. "Tch, didn't know I was dealing with a half breed!" Gerrel grunted and readied himself. He was surprised to see that the girl seemed as relaxed as ever.

"So you're a full blooded elf, huh?" The girl shifted into a stance that would allow her to attack at a moment's notice. "Figures, that you'd be the arrogant type being a thug lord and all. I wonder how you think you're superior to us?"

Gerrel scrunched his eyebrows. "Shut up you damn rat! I'm tired of your little guild members thinking you can take me down." He spat at the ground. "You all pissed me off. Because of that, I'm going to make sure you and your friends die a slow, painful death."

He raised his gun towards the girl and charged it with his mana, enough to stun but not kill.

"Ha!" Two swords slammed into Gerrel's side. He skidded along the ground for a moment before crashing painfully into a wall.

"Grah..."

The girl grinned, raising her claws to the black swordsman in greeting. "About time you helped out Ki-bou! I was starting to think you chickened out!"

Kirito grunted, getting back into his stance. "I see you're as talkative as ever Argo…"

Argo's grinned widened. "Admit it, you love my sarcastic remarks! You'd all be lost without them!"

"Tch, can't argue with that," Kirito muttered. "Where else would we get our sarcastic speaking half-elf mascot."

"O-Oi!" Argo blushed and crossed her arms. "That's taking it too far Ki-bou!"

Kirito laughed along with Klein, who had gotten up. They stopped when they saw Gerrel stand back on his feet.

Gerrel brushed the dust off his body and looked around, evaluating his odds. His gang was being cut down by this guild, their ambush obviously giving them the advantage. He estimated that he only had about fifteen man left.

He had two options: Run or Fight.

He decided to run.

"I know when I'm outnumbered and outmatched, so I'll call a strategic retreat for now." Gerrel pointed his gun at the ceiling.

Klein charged towards the thug lord, sword drawn. "Oi! Who said you can run?!"

Gerrel smirked and shot a mana bullet into the ceiling, sending it crashing down. Klein's eyes widened as he was forced to jump back in order to avoid being crushed from the falling debris.

Asuna dashed to the scene, Jade and Leo following her. "Wait!"

The shout was in vain. When the dust cleared, Gerrel was nowhere to be found.

Leo stomped at the ground. "Dammit! He got away!"

Asuna went to her earpiece. "Eugeo, do you come in? We've lost Gerrel. Is there any sign of him outside the area?"

It was a while before a sound of static was heard. "_Dammit. Sorry Asuna but we can't find him. There's no trace of him or his thugs' mana signatures. Probably an illusion magic of some kind. All we can tell is that he's not in the area."_

Asuna sighed. "It's okay Eugeo. Meet us in front of the entrance with Lyfa and Yuuki. We'll talk about what to do next there... though we might just head back to HQ."

"_Roger that."_

Asuna took her fingers off the earpiece and turned back to face her allies. "They can't find him."

Kirito nodded, a grave look on his face. "A high-level form of illusion magic... Useful for escaping enemies."

"That's what I thought." Asuna looked up in thought. "Let's head back to HQ and talk with Ran. She'll help us figure out what to do from there."

"Hey." Jade pointed at the little girl. "Shouldn't we check on her first?"

Everyone turned in that direction to see the girl being comforted by an older girl.

The first thing that stood out about the other girl was her light blue hair and feline blue eyes. She wore a desert themed military jacket with matching bulletproof armor and boots. Her pants were the open military type and a white muffler covered part of her face.

Kirito walked over to the two, his footsteps causing the older girl to look up at him. "Is she…alright, Sinon?"

Sinon looked Kirito in the eyes. "It takes more than an hour to overcome the shock of watching your family die."

Asuna came from behind Kirito and crouched down to the girl's level, offering her a small smile. "Hey there, what's your name?"

"S…Sena. Who are you?"

Asuna gently patted Sena's head, the smile still on her face. "I'm Asuna. It's nice to meet you Sena-chan." She paused, taking a moment to gather her words. "I'm sorry we couldn't save your daddy."

Sena looked down at the ground, her eyes glistening. "Daddy..." She sniffed, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

Asuna reached over and wiped away Sena's tears. "Look sweetie, I know it was terrible but we need to know why they captured you all. Do you think you could tell me that?"

The little girl gave a sad nod. "D-daddy… He couldn't pay his debt in time. The bad guys... they captured us and said he was going to have to pay right now and then...!"

Sena grabbed Asuna and sobbed into her shirt. "Daddy...!"

Asuna was startled at first but then she wrapped her arms around her and gently stroked Sena's back. "It'll be alright Sena-chan, it'll be alright."

Kirito and Sinon looked at one another as the other members of their team arrived.

"Do you think her dad was connected to the drug transport we stopped a while back?"

Sinon twirled her hair. "It is possible but that doesn't explain his debt."

"Hey Sinon-chan? Ki-bou?" The two turned to see an awkwardly smiling Argo. "I don't think it's the best idea to talk badly about a dead man in front of his little girl. Especially only an hour after his death."

Sinon and Kirito flinched as they turned to see the girl beginning to cry harder than ever. Asuna wrapped the girl in a tight hug before giving a fierce glare at the two. They began to sweat, knowing just how scary Asuna could get when she was angry.

Klein facepalmed while Leo and Jade burst into loud laughter.

Leo pointed at the two before bursting into another round of laughter. "That's why you two are bad with kids!"

Kirito glared back at him, Sinon doing the same.

"It's not like you're any better with them! Remember when you had to watch over the orphanage while Sasha ran errands?" Kirito smirked. "She said you were ready to blow the place up by the time she came back!"

Leo flinched before stomping over to Kirito, glaring right up against his face. "I thought I said to never bring that back up again! And I told you! They kept hitting me with those stupid Nerf swords!"

Kirito's smirk widened into a full grin. "Oh? So now your weakness is a foam sword? Ooh, how scary."

Argo smirked, deciding to join in on the fun. "Looks like Leo here needs to go the gym and toughen up. Maybe I should hit him with a Nerf sword a few times so he'll shut up the next time he wants to talk."

Leo crossed his arms and looked away. "….I hate you both."

Jade, Kirito, Klein, and Argo laughed at the boy's expense while Asuna and Sinon sighed.

"Hehehe!" The group turned in surprise towards the giggling voice and saw Sena trying to hide a small smile.

Kirito walked over and playfully ruffled Sena's hair. "Your father would want to see you smiling like that Sena. I'm sorry he's gone, but I know he wouldn't want to see you sad."

Sena nodded and leaned into Kirito's leg making the half-elf blush. Asuna looked towards Kirito with a serious expression. "So what do you think we should do with her?" She looked back into the little girl's green eyes, a small frown on her face.

Kirito cupped his chin in thought. "Sena. Do you have any other relatives we can take you too?"

Sena shook her head. "No. My mom died last year and my grandparents are gone too."

Klein sighed. "An orphan huh?"

In the back, Jade looked down at the ground. "An orphan..."

Kirito sighed before looking at Asuna. "I'll drop her off at the orphanage so Sasha can help find her a home. She'll know what to do since she had something like this happen to her too."

Leo's eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms. "Sure you'll be alright by yourself there Kirito? You know that's mainly elf territory. They won't take kindly to half-elf being on their side."

Kirito nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, you guys head on back to HQ and get some rest. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Leo looked towards Asuna, whose eye was twitching. "_I'm_ the one who gives the orders when Ran's not around, Kirito."

Kirito shrugged. "I'm just giving you advice so you don't become a liability when we meet up with Gerrel again."

"What was that?!"

Argo laughed. "Wow Ki-bou, could you have been less blunt?"

Klein sighed and shook his head. "This dude knows no fear."

That was as much as Sinon could take. She put her hands on her hips and looked at Kirito with icy blue eyes. "I thought you were going to take the girl to the orphanage? Or do you think it's more important to stay here and insult Asuna?"

Kirito blinked and tilted his head in confusion. "Insult? I was just telling her that she should rest since she'll just be holding us back if she's tired."

Argo and Leo laughed even louder as Asuna intensified her glare and began reach for her rapier.

"Why you!"

"Oh god," Argo managed to squeak out. "This is hilarious!"

Sinon snapped, seeing red. "IDIOT! Hurry up and go before I throw you there!"

Needless to say, everyone was frightened at the usually calm sniper's uncharacteristic yell. Even Asuna, who was usually as resolved as steel, shivered a little in fear. It was even enough to stop Argo from making a joke. Sinon's fierce killing intent didn't help, although it somehow didn't affect Sena who stood there confused.

Kirito, not needing to be yelled at twice, scooped Sena up and ran out of the warehouse, passing three confused figures along the way.

One of them was a dirty blonde boy with green eyes wearing a blue and white outfit. "Could somebody tell me why Kirito was running like he had a devil on his tails?"

A quick glare from Sinon shut him up and the two girls beside him just looked on in confusion.

* * *

Kirito rode his motorcycle through the streets of Algade. Sena had her arms wrapped around him, her head buried into his back.

Algalde was one of the largest cities in the land of Aincard. It kept up with the recent technology and was a popular tourist spot. Humans were the majority here, though half elves came in a close second.

The area Kirito was heading, however, was where city elves stayed. Obviously, half elves weren't welcomed there but Kirito wasn't worried. He knew he could take on any of the gangs that would fight him. Instead, his mind was on Gerrel and what the drug lord could be planning.

He knew Gerrel had the advantage now since the drug lord could attack when they least expected it.

Kirito sighed. They were just going to have to prepare for the worst.

He made a left turn down a hill into a rural area with barely any light besides the afternoon sky. He rode his motorcycle to the front of a large building in the middle of the area and turned off the engine.

"We're here Sena." Kirito hopped off his bike and turned towards the young girl. "Come on, I'll take you inside."

Sena nodded and held her arms out for Kirito. He helped her down and she stood close to him.

"What's a fucking half-breed doing in the elves part of town?"

Kirito narrowed his eyes at the loud voice. He looked to his left and saw three large elves approaching, each with a look of distaste.

Kirito pushed Sena back behind him and glared at the three. "I'm just here to drop a little girl off at the orphanage. I don't want any trouble."

The elf on the left laughed and spat in Kirito's direction. "Hah! I don't think you know the rules here half-breed, but we don't take kindly to pieces of trash like you littering this area. Inferior beings like you don't need to exist."

Kirito shook his head in a tired manner. "I've heard those same words plenty of times. The same thing, over and over again. Frankly, it's getting old."

The elf on the right growled. "Shut up you stain! Unless you didn't know, we're not the only ones who have a problem with you being here!"

Kirito looked around to see other elves giving him looks of hate and disgust. Some were even pulling out weapons in an attempt to threaten him. Maybe even attack him.

He let out a small sneer as he felt Sena clung tighter to his black coat. Like he had said, it was nothing new. He'd been getting those looks since he was born. The looks of hatred, of disgust, and sometimes of fear. Those looks, they made his life, his sister's life, and his parents' life hell. He hated them but had gotten use to them long ago.

"What the hell is going on out here?"

Everyone turned to the building at the sound of the loud voice. The source was a large and dark-skinned bald man. His outfit was black torn military-style clothing, matching the color of his dark eyes and beard. His ears were pointed, declaring his elven lineage. His mana signature gave no doubt as to whether or not he was full-blooded.

One of the elves yelled. "Agil! What are you doing out here?!"

Agil grunted and crossed his arms. "I came out here because your yelling woke me up from my nap. And what do I see? All of you, ganging up on a half-elf and a little human girl." The dark-skinned elf shook his head. "Man, you've gotten pathetic since my time."

The ringleader growled and pointed towards Kirito accusingly. "That stain shouldn't be here no matter what reason! We were just going to show him his way out, so he can stop staining this place with his filth."

Agil closed his eyes. "So you were ready to jump on him, without any regard for the little girl behind him? Not even considering that she might get hurt, maybe even killed in the crossfire?"

The elves flinched. They hadn't considered that.

Agil's opened his eyes and a spike of large killing intent smothered everyone but Kirito and Sena. He opened his mouth in the form of a roar. "You were ready to attack one half-elf without regarding the young girl behind him?! Are you all idiots?! Do you want to risk the humans lashing out against our kind here?! We're already not well-liked because we're the minority here, who knows what kind of trouble this would have gotten us into? And I'll have you know that this half-elf is part of a strong guild, one that is well trained with each of its members fully capable of killing! Think before you act! Now get out of my sight!"

The elves didn't need to be told twice and cleared the area within seconds. Agil took a deep breath to calm himself before looking at Kirito with a look of annoyance. "What made you come here thinking you wouldn't be attacked, Kirito?"

Kirito laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Guess I wasn't thinking…"

Agil's eye twitched before hitting Kirito on the top of the head. "You really don't know fear do you?" He sighed and headed inside the building. "C'mon, let's get that little girl inside the orphanage. We can talk inside."

* * *

"So Gerrel got away huh. The rumors do say that he's a very slippery guy."

Agil and Kirito sat at small table in the dining room.

Kirito nodded, a serious expression on his face. "Yeah he used a high level form of Illusion magic. We had our best sensors out there but they couldn't find him."

Agil sighed, clasping his hands in front of him. "And now he has the element of surprise on his side. You can tell he's going to retaliate, you just don't know when."

Kirito once again nodded. "Yeah. Soon too. It will take him awhile to regain his lost men. He'll probably launch a desperate attack."

"Hmm, then you should be careful then. Desperate men are very dangerous."

Kirito smirked. "Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be prepared."

Agil sighed. "The fact that you walked right into an eleven territory doesn't make me feel any better."

Kirito shrugged and gave an easygoing grin as a tray with two tea cups was set down in front of them. He looked up to see a young female elf that appeared to be a few years older than him. Her green eyes stood out from beneath her glasses in stark contrast to her red auburn hair.

"It's nice that you go out of your way to protect these kids," the elf said, putting her hands to her side. "But you need to be more careful. Your parents worry enough about you and Suguha-chan, they don't need any more."

Kirito looked down at his tea. "Can we please not talk about my parents? I told you, I made this choice Sasha."

Sasha frowned, along with Agil, as she placed her hand over his. "But Kazuto-kun, they still worry about you and Suguha. Not only that, but your guild's becoming more well known. Did you know you've actually started a name for yourself?"

Kirito looked up, surprised by the info. "What, really?"

Agil nodded with a small smirk on his face. "It all comes with being an SS-rank. People here refer to you as the Black Swordsman. Your name hasn't gotten known outside Algade though."

Kirito grimaced. The last thing he needed was more attention, and now he had a nickname obviously based off his clothing. He was going to have some trouble ahead. That was one of the annoying parts of being an SS-rank fighter.

Ranks were very important in deciding the strength of groups and individuals. Once you became a registered fighter, you would start off as an E-rank. Since your rank was the first impression to people, it was very important. Not many would hire an E-rank for missions and high ranked guilds wouldn't take many, if any at all.

In the end, it was up to you to work your rank up. This meant you had to be ready to do a lot of things. Taking bounties, fighting in tournaments, going on multiple missions... You had to bust your ass off to earn those points to rank up.

Kirito remembered his time with Sugu when they were E-ranks. They would come back to their apartment exhausted, collapsing on the nearest sofa. Sometimes, they didn't even make it there. However, that made Kirito and her stronger.

They only had their parents send them rent money, and at times for food, until Kirito made B-rank, getting enough to provide for them. Eventually, the two siblings caught the interest of a very powerful guild leader who was seeking to rebuild her guild with some youth.

Ran Konno, one of the few SSS ranks in the world and the leader of the Wings of Seraph.

"Hey Kazuto-kun are you listening to me?!" Sasha voice shouted as Kirito felt a fan hit him on the top of his head.

"Guh! Oi Sasha was that really necessary?"

Sasha glared at the boy in front of her with a look of annoyance. "Well you weren't listening too me, so I had no choice but to hit you!"

Agil laughed loudly. "It seemed like you were in deep thought about something Kirito. What was it?"

Kirito laughed sheepishly. "Oh, just reminiscing. Anyway, I need to head back to HQ. Is Sena alright here?"

Sasha nodded, her freckled face breaking out into a smile. "Sena-chan is already making friends back there. She'll be fine, though it would be nice of you to come back and visit."

Kirito nodded, a small smile on his face. "Yeah, I'll be back to visit to her as soon as we capture Gerrel."

With those parting words, the half-elf hopped on his motorcycle and drove off.

Unbeknownst to him, a shadow was glaring at him from the rooftop.

* * *

Kirito rode through the streets, his phone hooked into a slot to let him talk through a headset. "Have you guys gotten any leads on Gerrel?"

Eugeo's voice crackled from the headset. "_We've been trying Kirito, but Gerrel hasn't left any trails. We can't even sense his mana signature." _

Kirito let out a tired sigh. "Dammit if we don't find him he-."

"DIE!"

Kirito's eyes widened as he heard the sound of the wind being pierced. He looked up to see a fast paced mana bullet speeding towards him. Using quick reflexes, he quickly grabbed his phone and leapt off the motorcycle as the attack collided with the bike, destroying it.

"_Kirito, what was that?!" _

Kirito looked at his destroyed bike and at the figure approaching through the smoke. "I think Gerrel's decided to make his move. You have my position, get me back up as soon as you can." With that he hung up, placing his phone in his pocket. He drew both of his swords and stood up from his crouching position.

The smoke cleared, revealing Gerrel with his large knife in one hand and his mana shotgun in the other. Kirito surveyed his surroundings. It was night and he was in an abandoned street. No one was around. He could fight without the fear of innocent people getting hurt.

Gerrel growled and took a menacing step towards Kirito. "You brats ruined me!"

Kirito raised an eyebrow. "Ruined you? How so?"

Another mana bullet flew towards him in reply. He dodged, the bullet putting a hole in the brick wall he was standing in front of.

Gerrel sneered, pointing his gun at Kirito once again. "Thanks to you brats, my men left me and I've lost all my contacts due to the ruined drug export! I'm going to kill you, Black Swordsman!"

The enraged thug lord charged towards Kirito, knife raised high. The half elf blocked the knife with both swords. As the blades quivered in tension, Kirito pushed Gerrel away and performed a vertical slash with the sword in his left hand. It left a shallow wound across Gerrel's chest, but the thug lord jumped back before Kirito could attack again.

Gerrel roared and shot another mana bullet towards Kirito. The black swordsman dodged again, analyzing the situation. In his rage, it was obvious that Gerrel wasn't fighting as smart as he was before. He had lost all sense of strategy and was using only brute force.

Kirito recovered from dodging the bullet and charged towards Gerrel, his right sword raised this time to strike. He swiftly swung his sword, but it was blocked by the thug lord's large knife. Without pause, Kirito swung his other sword towards Gerrel's chest, but the large elf caught his arm and threw him into the wall.

Kirito let out a pained gasp as he slid down to the ground. Gerrel saw his chance and shot at the black swordsman again. This time he actually missed and Kirito was pushed to the side by the radius of the blast.

Kirito grunted and got back into his stance, a little blood trickling from the side of his mouth. He couldn't attack Gerrel directly he had a very clear strength advantage due to the elf's size. He would have to find a way to catch him off guard. His eyes narrowed. He had an idea to end this fight.

Kirito quickly chanted a spell and flooded the street with smoke screen. Gerrel was forced to raise his arm and cover his eyes from the smoke. He suddenly felt something hit him in the head. He spun around only for something to slash at his back. He swung his arm out in rage, only to feel a stab in the side.

"The fuck?! You damn half-breed!" Gerrel roared, shooting his gun all around the area to try and hit the half-elf who was picking him apart. The sounds of gunshots filled the area as the walls were destroyed by the large amount of mana bullets pelting them. Gerrel let out a battle cry before running out of mana.

Eventually, the smokescreen cleared. Gerrel panted and looked around him trying to find the, hopefully, dead half-elf. He saw the destruction he had caused, but to his surprise he didn't see Kirito.

"What the-? Where'd that fucking half-breed go?!" Gerrel looked around with his knife in his hand.

"Over here!"

Gerrel spun around in surprise to see Kirito racing towards him. He raised his gun to take a few shots, but to his horror he was out of mana. Realization hit him as he realized that he had fallen prey to the trap.

"Damn you!" Gerrel screamed, aiming to run the knife into Kirito's face.

It was too late.

Kirito tilted his head to dodge the knife and continued his charge. He slashed in an X-formation across Gerrel's chest as he reached the elf, coming to a stop directly behind him.

"_Double Circular"_

With those two whispered words, an X formed on Gerrel's chest. Blood came out from the wound as he fell to the ground in a pain-filled yell.

Kirito turned around to look at the former thug lord lying motionlessly on the ground, dead. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath of exhaustion.

"Damnit, you took all the fun!"

Kirito looked to his side to see Leo approaching him a smile. Leo held his fist out with a grin as Kirito smirked and bumped fists with him.

"I knew you didn't need the back up!"

Kirito laughed slightly. "Haha, he made it easy when I could tell how reckless he was." Kirito frowned as he remembered something. "He apparently lost control of his gang. They're probably roaming the area now."

Leo groaned. "Dammit! That means we have to look around for most of them." The dark-skinned boy sighed. "Oh well, at least we got him. So, what are you going to do now?"

Kirito put his swords away before speaking. "Probably head back to HQ and get some rest. I'm exhausted and need to report back to Ran. Who else did they send to back me up?"

"Lyfa and Asuna. They're probably scouting the area now, so I'll tell them to call it off," Leo said. He placed his finger on his headset and opened the channel.

Kirito looked at his destroyed bike and sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to get a new bike as well."

Leo paused and turned back to Kirito. "Oh yeah. Ran said next bike that gets destroyed, the owner has to pay for a new one."

"What?!" Kirito cried out in disbelief, exaggerated tears in his eyes. "B-but that means I have to save for months!"

Leo just laughed at the SS-rank. "Well... I do owe you for saving my life a few weeks ago. I guess I'll pay for a new one."

He found himself hugged by a grateful Kirito. "Thank you Leo!"

"GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

* * *

A tall figure watched the two from a rooftop on a building far away. He smirked as they interacted with two girls approaching them with questions before turning and disappearing into the wind.

"Grow strong Kirito-kun. Grow strong so that you may be a challenge when we fight."

* * *

**Betaed by WhizKidHV. Amazing Author, check his stories out!**

**Join us on SAOFandomNexus.**


	2. Origins

Kirito closed his eyes as he entered the HQ's lounge and collapsed on the nearest couch.

The lounge was large, enough to hold a wide TV, several lounge chairs, two couches and even a blackboard on one of its brown walls. Behind the couch Kirito was laying on hung a painting of a strange symbol.

Kirito smiled as he made himself comfortable in his couch. It wasn't long before he began drifting off into sleep. _'Finally some shut eye. I'm sure Ran won't mind me staying in the HQ tonight."_

"I see you've taken the couch."

Kirito opened one of his grey eyes at the voice and stared into a familiar face.

It was an elven girl, her long blonde hair falling in front of her green-eyed face as she leaned over Kirito. Her clothing matched her eyes, a lacy white blouse under a green tunic opening at her legs. A sword hung on her waist by her leather corset.

Kirito groaned and sat up. "What's up Sugu? I thought we were done with missions for the day."

The blonde elf known as Suguha sighed. "You forget to get your share of the pay. Ran said she'll take it if you're not-"

_Woosh!_

"-there in five minutes."

Suguha laughed to herself as she watched her half-elf cousin dash out of the room. She already had her share, so she took Kirito's seat on the couch and relaxed. As she did, she found her thoughts turning towards her cousin and adopted brother.

'_He's been happier since we joined the guild a year ago.'_

And it was true. Before becoming Seraphs, they had it rough.

They had to work their way up from simple E-ranks to the higher ranks, making their parents worry that they were trying to do too much for their young age.

They were.

The two worked multiple missions in a day. When Suguha proved herself to be a strong combatant, she began to do separate missions from Kirito. During those times she would worry for her older adoptive brother.

Was he okay? Was he hungry? Was he alive?

Kirito was her main concern in life and she always worried about his well-being. She would rush to his side at a moment's notice if he needed her.

Not many besides their family cared for him. He was a half-elf after all. It meant he was seen as an outcast by many.

A reject.

But not everyone saw him like that.

Suguha and her parents loved him, of course. There were also others that saw past Kirito's half-elf lineage. People like Eugeo, who was Kirito's friend despite being human.

And then there was Ran... who gave them a chance. One they were hesitant to take.

It was a year ago when they met. Kirito had just made S-rank and he, along with Suguha, Argo and Eugeo were celebrating at a local beef shop.

* * *

"Congratulations Onii-chan!" Suguha smiled brightly at her adoptive brother.

Kirito laughed sheepishly, shifting into his seat at the table. There was a strong aroma of grilled meat in the air, an enticing smell that added to the group's sense of excitement.

"So Ki-bou, since you're an S-rank now... don't you think it's about time I charge you extra for info?"

Kirito deadpanned at the giggling auburn girl across from him. "Argo, can you stop trying to swindle me out of money for once?"

Argo smirked. "Swindle is a strong word, Ki-bou. I'd say, it's more along the lines of... allowing you to help me."

The blonde boy sitting next to Kirito sighed. "And how is Kirito helping you by going broke, Argo? You already charge him 250 col per info."

Argo frowned. "Stay out of this Eugeo. I'm trying to run a business here."

Eugeo frowned right back. "By business, do you mean cheating your friends out of their hard earned mon-GUH!"

The table shook and Eugeo grabbed his knee in pain.

Argo crossed her arms and sneered. "Hmph, watch your mouth Eugeo."

Suguha put her hand on Argo's shoulder and smiled at her and Eugeo. "Now, now. We're here to celebrate Onii-chan making S-rank you two, not fight amongst ourselves."

Eugeo and Argo glared at one another before scoffing and turning away from each other.

Kirito sighed and leaned back into his seat. 'Will those two ever get along?' he thought.

"No, Ki-bou. I wouldn't get along with goodie two-shoes here even if I was dying."

Kirito jumped in shock. "W-Wha?!"

Argo snickered. "It was written all over your face Ki-bou." She grinned and leaned forward. "It was kinda cute."

Kirito blushed. "Geez, will you stop teasing me Argo?"

"Hmm." Argo tapped her chin. "How about no?"

"What if I tell everyone your real na-."

"Do that and I'll make you regret it."

Argo's voice was surprisingly cold. Any signs of playfulness were long gone.

Argo was one of the last people you wanted angry, and it wasn't just because she was an information breaker. She may have "accidentally" poisoned a few jackasses that teased her about the whiskers on her face.

Suguha felt the tension reach a breaking point and decided to clear the air. "Um, Argo-chan! How far are you from reaching S-rank yourself?"

Argo relaxed at the change of subject and pondered the question a bit before answering. "A good while away. I'd give it 3000 points from ranking up."

"Wow…" Suguha turned to the blonde, who had been quiet for a while. "How about you Eugeo?"

"Hmm, I guess about 2400 points away," Eugeo muttered before turning to Kirito with a smile. "Kirito here has been taking many more missions then we have been."

Kirito sighed. "I had no choice. I have to provide for both me and Sugu."

Sugu's eye twitched. "Onii-chan, don't act as if I'm burdening you. I work my butt off too!"

"Haha, don't worry Sugu. I'm just saying that I've been working harder to make sure we're both provided for."

Eugeo nodded. "That does make sense. You two have had less chances then me and Argo have had. I've had my grandparents and Argo had her mother before she-" Eugeo noticed Argo's downcast expression and stopped. "Um...oops?"

Suguha stomped on Eugeo's foot, causing him to yelp in pain. "Idiot! What have we said about bringing her up!?"

Eugeo leaned over to nurse his foot. "Sorry! I wasn't thinking before I spoke!"

Argo grumbled. "Since when do you ever? Damn idiot…."

Kirito shook his head in disapproval, sighing. "You need to learn to think before you talk Eugeo."

The blonde sweatdropped before laying his head against the hard wood of the table. "Ugh, what can I do to make it up to you Argo?"

Argo let a small smirk show. "Pay for my meal of course."

"Got it. Please have mercy on me."

Argo grinned. "Sorry, mercy isn't in my vocabulary."

Kirito and Suguha laughed before the black-haired half-elf felt something tap against his shoulder. He turned to see a waitress looking down at him with a smile.

"Um, Kirigaya-san. Someone would like to see you and your friends about something."

Kirito and everyone else at the table raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Do you know what this person's name is?"

"She didn't tell me, but said she knew you and everyone else were here."

Argo crossed her arms. "That sounds like a trap. If she can't tell us her name, then we can't see her."

Eugeo lifted his head, nodding. "I agree. Why should we trust this no name stranger so easily? "

The waitress looked ready to protest but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Ah don't worry about it waitress-san! I think I found them anyway."

The four turned to see an elf that was older than them, but still young.

Her long purple hair fell in front of her sea blue eyes and smooth face. Her clothing was light, and quite dark.

A simple black chest plate protected her front, covering a small black shirt. Unattached blue sleeves reached from her wrist to her elbow. Her black waist cape matched the dark blue pants she was wearing that had two metal plates on both thighs. On her side rested a sword. Finally her boots were black with blue buckles attached to them.

The elf smiled at the waitress and handed her two 300 col bills. "Here's for the trouble I caused you. I can take over from here. Thank you."

The waitress nodded happily and literally skipped away. The elf chuckled before grabbing a chair from a nearby table and sitting in front of the confused group.

"Yo!" the elf greeted, raising her hand. "My name's Ran Konno, and I wanted to make you guys an offer."

Silence followed her statement.

Argo glared at the full-blooded elf. "Why would we want to make a offer with some elf we barely know?"

Ran flinched and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Haha, I guess I did come off a bit sudden didn't I?"

Kirito rolled his eyes. "You think?"

"Well Yuuki's usually better at this than I am." Ran blushed before looking away. "So, sorry for not being great at this."

Sugu gave the mumbling elf a look. "Yuuki?"

Eugeo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you sure you're all there?"

Ran gripped her fists, her expression growing annoyed. "Yes, I'm all here." She sighed and tried to relax. "Look, I'm sorry. I just read your info from the warriors' database and got a little too excited."

Suguha's eyebrows raised. "Huh? You scouted us?"

"Yeah! And I've gotta say, you're all very impressive!"

Argo growled, getting Ran's attention. "Will you just tell us what you want already?"

Ran gave the auburn haired half-elf a weak look. "Are you treating me badly because I'm full-blooded?"

Argo snorted and looked away.

Ran sighed. "Look I don't hate you or Kirito-san for being half-elves. Me and Yuuki don't believe in that half-elf crap." Ran explained with a smile.

Argo didn't budge a bit. "That's what most of you full breeds say. But I need actions not words."

"Well I can't show you actions just yet. But I'll tell you, I don't dislike you at all."

"Whatever."

Suguha looked at the older elf. "So Ran-san, what is this offer anyway? Could we at least hear what it is?"

Ran smiled at the girl. "You're Lyfa right? Kirito's younger elven sister?" Seeing the blonde nod, Ran let out a small chuckle. "Ah, then I guess I can tell you. Have you guys ever heard of the Wings of Seraph?"

"No."

"I haven't."

"Nope."

"Sorry, doesn't ring a bell."

Ran face faulted before regaining her composure. "Ahem! Well, it's an old guild that was created by me and my old friends. We used to be one of the best, but recently many of the members went their own ways... or died."

The four friends couldn't help but pity the elf who had adopted a sad expression on her face.

Ran quickly shook out of it and continued. "I'm trying to rebuild the guild with some talented youth. I've been scouting some of the best young warriors I can find and five have already agreed to join. I was wondering if you all were interested in joining a guild."

The four friends looked at one another. Usually they would have refused, but they each had a reason for considering this offer. Well, three of them did.

From what Argo had gathered from her info, guilds were very nice to information brokers. They had access to usually restricted databases and could travel around safer with protection. They also earned higher pay thanks to a guild bonus. The only thing that she wasn't comfortable with was having a full-blooded elf as a leader.

Like Argo, Eugeo wanted to join a guild to earn higher pay. But he also wanted to join for the chance to lead. He had been in groups before on his missions and did a good job leading them. He saw the offer as a chance to show his skill as a leader. He also heard that guild members were able to do tougher missions, which was good as the magic knight was looking for a challenge.

Suguha saw this as a chance to finally get out of the bad situation she and her cousin were in. They had had it tough, but with the higher guild pay they could easily pay the bills. Not only that, but they would be safer since they would be working with others. She wouldn't have to worry so much about losing her Onii-chan.

Kirito, however, had different ideas. "I think I'll pass, but thank you for the offer."

Ran's eyes widened. "Eh?!"

Kirito gave a slight shrug of his shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I work better alone. Not only that, but I barely know you. I don't think I could trust you with my life."

"Now hold on there Ki-bou."

Kirito looked towards Argo in surprise. She had cupped her chin and looked thoughtful.

"This offer isn't half bad. Guild members earn bonuses and have someone watching their back most of the time. I don't fully trust this full-breed, but this offer is at least worth looking into."

Kirito frowned. "Yeah, but I believe I can protect myself fine."

Suguha placed her hand on her cousin's. "But Onii-chan, if we join a guild we can work together more and earn better pay." She met his eyes and then looked down. "I know you're strong, but I'd feel better if I knew someone was watching your back."

Kirito sighed. "I know Sugu, but I don't have any problems with going solo. Now, I'm not saying anyone here is weak, it's just that I trust my abilities to survive."

Ran narrowed her eyes at the half-elf. "Kirito-san. Please excuse my rudeness, but you sound awfully cocky for a newly promoted S-rank."

"W-Wha?"

"You say you're fine on your own, but have you seen any of the S-rank missions?" Ran crossed her arms. "It's more than just battling gangs. It's battling powerful monsters on a daily basis. Having a guild help you out benefits you and them in the long run."

Kirito scowled. "Who are you to judge my abilities? You can't go off of something you saw on a computer."

Ran smirked. She finally found out how to get Kirito hooked. "Oh? So how about you and I make a deal?"

"A deal?"

"Yeah. A duel between you and me. If you win, I'll take back what I said about you and give you 500,000 col."

Everyone at the table eyes widened. 500,000 col?! That was enough to buy a top tier apartment!

"But if I win…" Ran continued. "You have to join the Wings of Seraph, no questions asked."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, thinking about the answer, before nodding. "Sure, I'm better with swords than with words anyway."

Ran grinned. "Alright, follow me. I know the perfect place for our duel."

Kirito gestured towards the door. "After you."

The two walked out with the other three following after them. Others had heard the conversation and began to follow as well.

A waitress in the back had heard the conversation as well. She sighed. "I hope Ran holds back on that kid, or she's going to end up killing him. She's an SSS-rank for a reason."

She shook her head and went back to her work.

* * *

Wind blew in Ran's face as she stood across from Kirito. The two had arrived in a dirt clearing for their fight. Clusters of people surrounded them, excited to see the duel.

Ran cracked her fists. "Last chance to back out Kirito!"

Kirito took a breath to steel himself and pulled out his swords, getting into his battle stance. "Sorry but I'm no quitter. Draw your blade."

Ran didn't draw her sword, but also moved into a battle stance. "I'm gonna show you just what it means to be in the S-ranks. You need a lesson on humility, and I plan to make it _very painful_." She grinned. "And when I'm done, you'll be part of Ran Kanno's guild, the Wings of Seraph."

Argo was sitting on the side and her eyes widened when she heard that. "Wait, Ran Konno?! Oh man... Ki-bou's in some serious trouble."

Eugeo and Suguha both raised an eyebrow, but Eugeo asked the question. "What's so great about her?

Argo gulped as a scared expression reached her face. "She's SSS-rank, and one of the strongest at that."

The two froze.

"Well," Eugeo said. "That's bad."

Suguha turned back towards her brother. "Be careful Onii-chan..."

One of the citizens acted as the referee of the duel. He checked both fighters and raised his arm. "Ready? Begin!" The arm fell, signalling the start of the duel.

Ran made the first move and began chanting a spell.

Kirito thought it would take her awhile to finish, so he charged, blades at his sides. He realized his mistake when he saw Ran smirk.

"Stone Blast!"

The spell was finished in an instant, sharp pieces of rock sent flying towards him.

Kirito's eyes widened and he jumped back to avoid the incoming projectiles. Unfortunately for him, Ran wasn't done.

"Wind Blade!"

A small blade of wind cut across Kirito's chest, leaving a sharp wound, and sent him backwards.

He grit his teeth in pain and got back to his feet. It was shocking that a novice spell like that could be so powerful.

Ran saw her opportunity and decided to step it up a bit. "Oh holy power pierce my foes, Holy Lance!"

'Another!? So fast!' Kirito dashed to the side to avoid the lances of light. He had never seen anyone cast spells at such at fast rate! Who was this woman?!

Ran smirked at the shocked look on Kirito's face. "Are you done yet?"

Kirito's eyes widened but then narrowed. 'No! I can't lose here!'

He quickly chanted a spell and caused a smokescreen to fill the field. Everyone was forced to close their eyes to prevent the smokescreen from blinding them.

Ran remained completely relaxed as the smokescreen overtook her. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Stuff like that won't work with me, Kirito."

She stepped to her left, dodging Kirito's thrust, and grabbed his arm. She opened her eyes and smirked at Kirito's shocked face. "Did you really think I was going to fall for such a novice trick?"

She charged her fist with mana and punched into the stomach of the half-elf.

Kirito flew through the smokescreen and landed painfully on the ground, coughing out blood from the hit.

The smoke cleared and Kirito slowly picked himself up from the ground, still coughing out blood as he did.

Suguha screamed out in worry. "Onii-chan!"

Ran put her hand on her hips. "Kirito, do you really plan on continuing? Your sister's worried for you and nothing you've tried has worked."

Kirito roared in reply and charged towards Ran.

Ran closed her eyes and stomped, raising a towering wall of earth to block Kirito's path. Behind it, she began chanting another spell. 'I was hoping he'd quit before this point. Using this spell tires me out, but he leaves me no choice! Time to teach his ass some humility!'

"Come forth: Earth Golem!"

The wall crumbled and something began forming in its place. A head appeared, then a torso and legs. Before long, the earth had become a large humanoid figure. As a sword and shield formed in its hands, it came to life, leering down at Kirito. .

"I'll give you the fact that you've pushed me this far," Ran yelled. "But it's time to end this!"

The golem stepped forward and swung its earthen blade at the half-elf.

Kirito's gaped at the sight and leapt to the side, barely avoiding being crushed.

Ran smirked and pointed at Kirito, two pink beams of magic rapidly homing in on him.

Kirito panicked as he ran from the beams of magic that followed his every move.'Dammit! Just what is she!?' He had to think of a plan and fast!

There was an earth golem, but he couldn't beat that. There were also two beams of deadly magic racing after him...

That's it!

Kirito spun around, the beams narrowly missing him, and charged towards the golem.

Ran raised an eyebrow. 'Was he stupid?' she thought. And then it hit her. 'Oh, I see his plan now.' She grinned. It seemed that she had made the right choice after all.

The black swordsman turned back to see the beams closing in on him. Taking a page out of Argo's book, he charged some of his mana into his legs and increased his speed.

The golem slashed down at him with its sword, but Kirito stopped just as the tip of the weapon slammed into the ground. As soon as it did, Kirito sprinted up along the sword, the pink beams of magic still racing after him.

As the golem slashed down at him, Kirito slowed down a bit stopping before the tip as it slammed into the ground. He ran up the sword, the beams still behind him as he jumped towards it's head.

'It's now or never!'

Kirito leapt towards the golem's head and thrust his swords down. They pierced into earthen skull, sending cracks along where he struck. Without pause, he wrenched the blades out and flipped over the head.

The twin beams of magic followed him... but not before colliding with the golem and destroying it.

Rocks fell to the ground, dust scattering as the debris struck the earth.

Kirito briefly saw the golem collapse as flew through the air and smirked. It faded when he felt the heat around him increase and looked to see a large fireball heading towards him at high speeds. Being airborne, he had no chance to dodge.

"GAH!"

He was hit by the large amount of heat and was flung back, landing hard on the ground. Everyone in the vicinity winced as they heard several bones crack. Fortunately, his clothing was fireproof, so he didn't suffer any severe burns in addition to his other wounds.

Kirito grunted and looked up to see Ran approaching him. She had a serious expression on her face.

"So do you give up?"

"I'm not... done yet!" Kirito tried to get up, refusing to admit defeat-

-Only to gasp in pain as Ran's boot landed on his already injured ribs. Ran glared down at him.

"You're exhausted and injured while I'm completely fine. I could keep this up all day, and you look ready to collapse from all the hits you took. Give it up before you really get hurt."

Kirito narrowed his eyes for a moment and then looked to the side in defeat. "I…I give up."

Ran smiled wryly, offering him a hand. "Sorry I had to do it this way, but welcome to the Wings of Seraph."

* * *

"Here you go! All healed up~!"

"Thanks."

Kirito sat in a small shack that Ran had helped him too. His shirt was off while he was being treated, revealing a slight muscular chest.

The person who treated him, a pink-haired nurse, smiled. "Don't worry about it Kirito-kun~! I'm just happy to help!"

With that said, she packed up her equipment and walked away.

Kirito watched her leave before sighing and falling on the bed. He stared at the ceiling, his loss to Ran playing in his head over and over again. And it was an embarrassing loss too. He didn't get a single hit in.

He only managed to get close once, but that was probably because Ran allowed him too.

He never had been beaten so badly in his life. It was a feeling foreign to him. Something that made him sick to his stomach.

Being pathetic…

"So you going to stare at the ceiling all day?"

Kirito sat up and saw Ran leaning against the door with a wide grin on her face.

He laughed wryly. "Sorry, but after getting curb stomped I think I deserve a break."

Ran looked nervous, scratching the back of her head. "Oh come on, you act like I was trying to kill you! I can't help it if I'm a SSS rank!"

Kirito gave her a pointed look. "You could have warned me. Or were you just that determined to get me in the guild? I feel tricked."

Ran huffed. "Well that's what you get for underestimating your opponents! Do that with S-rank missions and you won't last long out there."

Kirito looking down at the bed, his hands clenched around the sheets. "I guess I have to follow through with my end of the deal. I'll join the guild."

Ran sighed and walked over to the bed. "I'm sorry Kirito. I really wanted to talk this out. Trust me, I had no plans of fighting you into the guild."

To the SSS-rank's surprise, Kirito relaxed and smiled at her. "Ah, don't worry about it. A deal is a deal. I lost and you won, so I have to keep my end of bargain. Besides, maybe this guild thing will work out. It'll allow me to work closer with my friends. They did join, right?"

"Uh, yeah they said they would join since you were joining."

Kirito kicked his feet off the bed. "Great. So what's next leader?"

Ran smiled and clasped her hands together. "Well, first thing is getting your clothes back on. I had a friend named Ashley stitch your clothing back, so I hung it up in the bathroom. I'm going to head back to the HQ in West Algade near the west gates. It has this symbol on it's front doors."

Ran lifted up her shirt a little to reveal a strange black tattoo.

Kirito turned away at the skin the elf was showing.

Ran noticed and snorted. "Sorry kid. I'm a little too old for you."

Kirito blushed as Ran giggled to herself, but he gained a devious grin. "Oh? Then I guess I should call you Baa-chan-"

POW!

Kirito fell to the ground moaning in pain as a fist-shaped mark showed up on the back of his head.

Ran clenched her teeth, her fist shaking in rage. "Never. I mean _never_call me that Kirito or I will _kill_ you."

Kirito shivered in fear from his downed position and nodded rapidly, scared of another attack.

Ran took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Be at the HQ tomorrow at 10 am sharp. Here's a map if you get lost. You'll be meeting the other recruits there. I'll see you and your friends there, Kirito."

She threw a scroll at Kirito's head and walked out of the room. Kirito moaned in pain as it hit the same spot she had punched him.

The door opened and Suguha walked into the room. "Onii-chan are you better now?" She noticed her brother lying on the ground and gasped. "ONII-CHAN?! What happened to you?!"

She ran to her brother's side and lifted his head, a worried expression on her face.

Kirito grinned painfully, a small amount of blood coming from his mouth. "Um, do you think you can get the healer back here again Sugu? Please…?"

* * *

That meeting with Ran had marked a turn in their fortune, despite Kirito's injuries afterwards. Things had only gotten better for Suguha and Kirito since then, including the success of their latest mission.

The Seraphs were gathered in the large meeting room at the center of HQ. They sat closely around a small round table with Ran standing at the head.

"Alright everyone! Today was a good day!" Ran smiled at her guild members. "You all did well without me! I'm very impressed!"

Leo gave a cocky grin. "What did you expect? It wasn't that hard Ran. We just kicked ass and took names."

Jade's shot a glare towards Leo and kicked him underneath the table. "Could you be less cocky? Besides, Kirito was the one who stopped the guy!"

Leo blushed and scratched the back of his head. Kirito laughed at his friend, but a quick glare shut him up.

You don't anger the guy offering to buy you a motorcycle.

A pink haired, freckled girl, wearing pink clothing, pouted. "I can't believe I missed out on this mission! I was really hoping to get out and get some fresh air!"

Asuna smiled at her friend. "But Liz, you were the one saying you had to finish a request you were given."

Lisbeth groaned, an annoyed expression on her face. "But couldn't you guys have waited for me? I was almost done!"

Sinon's cool voice interrupted. "Had we waited any longer, the outcome most likely would have changed." She crossed her arms and gave Lisbeth a blank look. "We couldn't wait for you to finish the weapon."

"...Guess I really can't complain."

"Well I can!" The girl who shouted resembled Ran, but younger with and purple and red outfit. Also, instead of Ran's sea blue eyes, the girl's were red.

"Since when did I become a scout? I wanted to be on the team that went into the warehouse!"

"Stop complaining Yuuki," Ran muttered. She lightly tapped her younger sister's head. "We needed someone to act as the scanner along with Lyfa and Eugeo. You were the only elf available besides me, and I was too busy."

Yuuki huffed and crossed her arms.

A younger brunette girl in red clothing, who seemed to be the youngest there, giggled softly. The small blue dragon on her head mimicked her action.

"Don't worry, Yuuki-san. You'll get your chance!"

Yuuki deadpanned at the younger girl. "Silica, hearing that from you doesn't make me feel better."

Sinon let out a long sigh, twirling her hair. "If you keep being as impulsive as you are now, you'll get no better."

Kirito nodded in a sage-like manner. "Yeah, Yuuki's still as energetic as when this guild first started."

Argo snorted. "If not more."

Yuuki blushed and then stuck her tongue out at everyone. She became more annoyed as the group just laughed in response.

Suguha turned to her brother. "So Onii-chan, how did everything go with Sena-chan at the orphanage?"

Instantly, everyone leaned in to hear what the half-elf had to say about the young girl. Kirito chuckled before smiling. "She's doing excellent from what Sasha told me on the phone earlier. I plan on visiting her tomorrow."

"T-then maybe I should come with you." Asuna turned her head to the side, blushing. "She means a lot to me too."

Kirito shrugged. "Sure, if you want. I think she'd be happy to see you."

Leo looked at the two and snickered. "So husband and wife, do you plan on taking Sena to the park?"

Both Kirito and Asuna blushed and began to stutter.

Argo giggled to herself looking at the two stumble over their words. "Well, it'd be better than hearing the two of them argue! They've always been an old married couple to me."

Asuna slammed her hand against the table. "Quiet Argo!"

The impish information broker grinned. "Oh? Then why are you blushing Asuna-chan? Is that anger or embarrassment? I mean you've known Ki-bou for a year! You claim not to care about him, but you always fight with him! There's definitely something going on there!"

Asuna growled. Kirito made frantic movements to try and calm her down. He knew how Argo could get and a fight between her and Asuna would not be pretty.

Eugeo, seeing his friend's panic, interrupted. "_Ahem! _We have something else to talk about." He turned towards the group's leader. "Ran, how has it been looking for the crime rate?"

The elven leader instantly frowned as she sat down in her seat. "I'm going to be honest. The crime rate seems to be unchanging, maybe even increasing a little."

"What?!" Jade's surprised yell came out. "But we've been doing so much! How can it still be increasing!?"

"I wish I knew Jade." Ran sighed. "I had a talk with the Knights of Blood leader, Heathcliff. He had gathered me and a few other guild leaders for the meeting."

Everyone's eyes narrowed at that name.

Heathcliff was the strongest warrior in Aincrad and leader of the most powerful guild, Knights of the Blood. He was a man of few words, rather allowing his actions to do the talking.

Leo crossed his arms. "So what did he want?"

Ran grimaced. "He believes someone could be controlling all the gangs."

"So in other words a mastermind?" Argo snorted. "This is sounding like a manga or something."

Ran laughed a bit. "It does, doesn't it?" She looked serious again. "We don't have any evidence that someone could be controlling the gangs, but I believe what he's saying. It's just too convenient that gang activity would spike like this."

Everyone nodded. Something had to be going on. Gang activity had always been a problem in Algade, but the way it had been lately was too incredible to be coincidence.

"Know this though, we can't make a move until we know what we're doing. We could cause a panic if we make the wrong move. Right now, I need all of you to just do what you guys normally do. That's your mission. In the meantime, the information guilds are going to be looking into this."

Everyone gave an affirmative nod.

Klein ran his hand through his red hair and sighed. "This is really turning out to be something serious Ran-chan. I really hope Heathcliff's guess is wrong."

Ran smiled wryly. "I hope so too, Klein. But let's be honest, when is Heathcliff ever wrong?"

Klein chuckled, his armor clanking a little. "Never?"

She nodded and then clapped her hands together. "Anyway, sorry to say this guys but I have a lot of paperwork I need to do and you're all going to be my helpers!"

"E-EHHHHHHH?!"

Sinon's eye twitched. "We're supposed to be your guild members, not your assistants."

Asuna gritted her teeth. "Captain….!"

Ran grinned, putting her hands to her side. "Oh come on! Aren't we all supposed to be friends?"

Kirito deadpanned. "Yeah, because friends help friends who obviously procrastinate in taking care of their business."

"I'm glad you agree then Kirito! See you should all be like Kirito here! Come on, let's get to work!"

Kirito broke out in a sweat as everyone at the table glared at him, letting their killing intent be felt. He gave a nervous laugh and shrunk back in his chair.

Ran laughed staring at her guild with a smile. It was amazing how far the Seraphs had come. They would never have acted like this a year ago. The young warriors had been too prideful, and that had almost cost them a mission. It was only a few days after Ran and Kirito's duel too.

It had been a simple mission: rescue hostages from a group of bandits. They had broken out of formation simply because they couldn't work together. In the process, they had alerted the bandits of their presence. The hostages had nearly been killed. If it wasn't for Ran's quick thinking and the bandits stupidity, they would have.

The elven leader wasn't exactly happy when they got back to HQ.

* * *

Ran looked down at her new recruits, each of which were on their knees. "Are you all insane?! I've never seen such bad teamwork in my life!" She glared at every one of them, but they all refused to meet her glare. Not that the small killing intent she was giving helped.

She growled, putting her hand to her face. "I mean what were you guys thinking? The hostages could have been killed! All of you are so lucky that those bandits had no common sense or we'd be in some serious trouble right now!"

Asuna gulped. "Captain, I would like to apologize for breaking off strategy and-"

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Asuna!" Ran rounded on the chestnut haired girl. "We were dealing with lives on the balance here! It's a miracle no one died!"

Ran gripped her fists tightly. "None of you know what it's like to lose hostages…none of you."

The room was silent. Ran was right, they didn't know and they definitely did not want to experience it.

Klein, who had been sitting in a chair the entire time watching Ran's lecture, sighed. "Ran-chan, I believe you've said enough. The good thing is that no one got hurt."

Ran glared back at her close friend. "Yeah, but someone could have easily gotten hurt, if not killed. They broke away from formation, just to be heroes!" Ran turned her glare back at the recruits. "This is a guild. You are a _team_! You need to start acting like one."

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Now, I'm going to dismiss you for break and I want you all back here in 3 hours. Just... get out of my sight."

Needless to say, everyone in the room left as quickly as possible, the killing intent giving them an extra push. Everyone except for one person.

Ran sighed, looking down at her younger sister. "Yuuki, I expected you out of all of them to know better."

Yuuki gulped and looked away. "Nee-chan, they're too slow. It's not like teaming up with you or Klein. They look confused."

Klein sighed. "They're just joining us Yuuki-chan. They still need to learn the strategies and formation. They'll catch up. Give them time."

Ran crossed her arms. "You breaking off formation doesn't help. I'm really disappointed in you Yuuki."

Yuuki frowned looking down at the ground. She really hoped those recruits would catch up so she could get stronger.

* * *

Leo stalked through the streets of Algade, kicking a can in front of him. He growled and slammed his fist against a wall. "Dammit! I can't believe I almost blew another opportunity! What the hell was I thinking?!"

He had grown up in a place where opportunity came rare to people. The fact that he almost lost one pissed him off, and the fact that he almost caused it made it even worse.

He had always wanted to get away from his horrible parents and became a registered warrior when he was twelve. He tricked them into signing the sheet he needed and before long, he had worked his way up to C-rank all on his own.

But Leo didn't want to be a solo forever. He wanted to join a guild. Having to avoid the local gangs in his neighborhood, he never had anybody watch his back. He wanted to change that.

The thing was, he had a bad attitude. He admitted it, something he inherited from his terrible parents. This, of course, clashed with others and he was kicked out of all the guilds he joined.

It had gotten to the point where he believed that he would be a solo forever when he met Ran. She said she liked his attitude and would even help him smooth it out.

Leo had been glad for her offer, but after today he knew he was on the hot seat again. If he didn't calm down, he would once again be looking for a new guild to join. Only this time, he might not get another chance.

As he continued his walk through the streets, he listened to the crowds to see what the latest news was. He was surprised when he heard two very familiar voices.

"I don't see what your point is, Kirigaya-san."

"All I'm saying Asuna is that your style needs work."

"Hmm?" Leo looked across the street towards the voices and saw a small open tea shop. Several of the other recruits were there... and they were arguing.

And they were arguing…

* * *

Asuna had been in a bad mood the past two months.

It started when both she and her brother sent in requests to join the Knights of Blood.

Asuna had just reached S rank and was very confident in her skills. It showed since she had a very impressive record of 60-10 in duels. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she would get in.

However, much to her shock and despair, only her brother was chosen. Despite all the hard work she put in, her SS-rank brother was the one chosen. Asuna couldn't believe it. She had worked so hard to get where she is now.

The fact that her brother quickly advanced to the vice-captain rank in only a month and a half didn't help.

Jealously and anger filled the youngest Yuuki's veins as she trained like no other over the following months. The fact that she had been denied placed a big chip on her shoulder. She enjoyed it. It fueled her.

Before long, she attracted attention from a elf. Ran Konno.

She had asked for a spar and Asuna accepted, not thinking it over. Like Kirito, she was soundly beaten. And like Kirito, she offered Asuna a chance.

To join her reforming guild. To join the Wings of Seraph.

Asuna only needed a little push before joining. It was the chance to finally prove herself.

To her parents. To her brother. To the Knights of Blood, who had passed her over.

Today, her bad mood took a turn for the worse. She had messed up. Badly.

She broke formation and rushed the bandits they were assigned to kill. It nearly cost them the lives of the hostages.

Needless to say, Asuna was upset and disappointed with herself. She had planned to go out on her own and cool off, but one of her fellow recruits, a B-rank named Jade, asked her to hang out with her and three other of the female recruits.

She didn't have a choice as Jade pulled her by the arm towards a restaurant. Inside, Asuna failed to keep up with the conversations and found herself talking to Sinon, who maintained a calm demeanor.

Things were going smoothly until the half-elf recruit and his three friends showed up. An argument started when the half-elf, Kirito Kirigaya, decided to criticize her style.

The black swordsman crossed his arms. "I'm not trying to offend you Asuna, but the style of fighting that you use is too dangerous."

Asuna glared at the half-elf. "Excuse me? This is the Yuuki style of fighting. You _do_ know that you are insulting something that's been in my family for generations?"

"I'm not trying to insult it." Kirito sighed. "It's just it seems like you're overkilling your targets."

Asuna raised an eyebrow. "Overkill? Does it matter if the enemy is dead?"

"It does actually." Kirito placed a hand under his chin. "I mean putting too much effort into defeating an enemy can put strain on your body."

"Don't talk to me like I'm weak, Kirigaya-san. I'm perfectly fine with my fighting style. If anything, I believe your fighting style lacks form."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Asuna scoffed. "You wildly swing your swords like some animal. It lacks finesse and you don't even know what you're doing half of the time. Your stance is wide open and it makes you look like a kid randomly swinging around his swords."

"Excuse me?" Kirito crossed his arms and shook his head. "At least I'm not ordering other people around. What gives you that right anyway? I mean, we're all recruits. What made you think we had to listen to you?"

The black haired girl with red highlights, Jade, laughed nervously. "Hey, come on now you two. Let's just enjoy ourselves."

Asuna gave her a quick glare. "Stay out of this Amaya-san. This is between me and Kirigaya-san."

Jade's eyes widened and she sighed. No wonder Ran was so critical about them. They just could not get along.

Kirito returned Asuna's glare. "Tch. Why can't you be nicer to your teammates? You won't earn Ran's approval with an attitude like that."

Asuna snarled. "And why don't you be quiet? I don't need to take criticism from someone below me."

"Man you two sound like an old married couple."

Both S-ranks whipped around to glare at Argo with small blushes. The information broker smirked.

"Hmph!" Asuna crossed her arms. "Maybe if you could do actually more than wait in the shadows to attack, you'd actually play a better part. But of course, you look like the type who couldn't handle close range fighting. Such a pity that you'd never match up to me."

Argo growled. "What was that human?!"

"I don't need to repeat myself. For all we know, your lack of toughness could have been the reason we failed the mission."

Jade, seeing enough, stepped in between the two and pushed them apart. "That's enough. Both of you. We don't need to be fighting amongst ourselves."

Argo knocked away her hand. "Don't tell me what to do, full-breed. I don't have to take this from the human. She jumped out like the rest of us!"

"Hey." Leo strode towards the group, his hands in his pockets. "You guys do know that you're attracting attention right? And besides, this isn't about who was at fault. We all jumped in without any sense of teamwork."

Lisbeth nodded from Asuna's side and grabbed ahold of one of Asuna's arms. "He's right Asuna-san. We each have to accept responsibility for our actions."

Asuna slumped her shoulders. "Maybe you're right. I'm sorry Argo…"

Argo sneered before storming out of the tea shop. Everyone at the table sighed.

Sinon grunted and look towards Kirito. "I heard she has a strong dislike for humans and full-blooded elves. Is there a reason why?"

Everyone looked towards Kirito, even Suguha and Eugeo, who both didn't know Argo's background.

Kirito let out a wry smile. "You'd have to pay her for that story."

Everyone at the table nearly face faulted. Kirito turned towards where Argo left. "I'm going to go after her and see if she's alright." With that, the S-rank went after his fellow half-elf.

Leo watched Kirito leave and let out a small grunt. "If we keep this up, none of us will be part of Ran's guild."

Everyone was silent, knowing he was right.

* * *

The next day couldn't have come any sooner for the recruits. They all wanted to put yesterday's failure behind them and move on.

However, their leader had something planned to make sure that was easier said than done.

That morning, an elf with black hair and red highlights walked the streets of Algade with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Jade thought about the recent events as she maneuvered through the various people.

Yesterday had been a complete disaster. There was no doubting that. From her breaking out of formation to the huge argument between Argo and Asuna... She didn't know if things could get worse.

Then they returned to Ran who had managed to find out about the argument from a complaint.

Strangely, she didn't scold them. She simply said to be at the clear open field near the HQ tomorrow morning for a test.

The recruits' nervousness could almost be felt. And Klein's occasional look of pity didn't help.

Jade let out a sigh, staring into the sky.

"I hope Kirito got Argo to calm down. She didn't look too happy when we met back at HQ."

Argo had a very distasteful expression on her face when she came back with Kirito. Not only that, but she had avoided everyone like they were the plague.

Kirito had told Jade that it took time before Argo would get over something and that it would take even longer since Argo didn't know them that well.

Jade wasn't surprised. She'd always had trouble getting along with half-elves, despite never believing the superior talks. It was something that stuck with her from living at an orphanage.

She paused at that thought. It had been two years since she left the orphanage so that she could start providing for herself. She wondered how everyone was.

Despite the cries of the younger orphans when she left, it was for the best. With other orphans coming in, she was only becoming a burden.

It had been tough adjusting to her new life, but Jade was a fighter, something inherited from her deceased parents.

She quickly worked her way up the ranks and became known for her magic abilities with a guitar. She had picked it up one day in the attic while helping clean and fell in love with it. The guitar had previously belonged to the ward of the orphanage, who was now a retired SS-rank.

Jade had asked the ward to teach her how to use it so she could become a warrior. It had taken some time, but eventually the ward had agreed.

After a few months of doing missions by herself, she was approached by an elf and her sister with an offer to join their guild.

Jade accepted, wanting to be part of a guild for a long time.

But now, it seemed like that offer would be passing by, but Jade wouldn't give up.

She started walking again, her fist clenched in determination.

She would _make _the guild work together if she had to. She couldn't let this opportunity go.

* * *

Ran yawned and closed her eyes as she leaned back on the tree branch she was sitting on, resting against the body of the tree. The area was both peaceful and beautiful, which was why she loved it.

It had a nice lake on the side, a grassy field, some tall trees, and not too much wildlife.

At the bottom of the tree Ran was lying on, Klein leaned against its bark enjoying the calm wind.

This was the perfect place to train. It was also the perfect place for a test.

"Haa! Owa!"

Ran opened one of her eyes to see Yuuki swinging her sword in an imagined fight. The elven leader let out a small smile watching her little sister practice swinging.

Yuuki took after their father more than Ran did.

"Yo Ran, we're here!"

Ran looked down to see her recruits staring up at her. In front of them was Kirito with his hand raised and a small grin on his face.

"Good!" Ran jumped down from the tree and landed softly on the ground. "Now that you're all here, we can finally begin the test! Yuuki, stop training and join us!"

Yuuki grumbled for a bit before running over and joining her peers.

Asuna crossed her arms. "Captain, what is this test supposed to be anyway?"

Ran looked at Klein, who grinned, and turned back towards the recruits with one of her own. "It's simple. You all are going to fight me and Klein."

"…EH?!"

Ran scratched the back of her head. "Well not really fight us, but until I say stop or time runs out. I'm going to test your teamwork and see if you can all work together."

Klein stepped forward. "I can't really fight at the level of Ran-chan can here. If she really wanted to, she could probably take all of you on, but not without casualties. Because of that, I'm going to team up with her and make sure you guys don't take advantage. Or get hurt."

Everyone looked nervous at the idea of having to fight an SS-rank and SSS-rank at the same time.

But Ran wasn't finished. "Also, you should know that you won't be able to beat us without working together. And if you don't work well enough to get my approval, you're booted off the recruitment, no ifs or buts about it."

It was like a 1000kg weight was placed on the backs of each young recruit. The pressure they were facing was enormous. Failure would mean they lost everything.

Each of them looked at each other, various expressions of unease and distrust on their face.

Asuna caught Argo's gaze and flinched at the glare the half-elf was giving her.

Ran clasped her hands together. "So, I'll give you all ten minutes to talk strategy together! Make sure it counts, because if you don't come after us when time's up, we'll come after you!"

With that she and Klein walked away to give them space.

The recruits huddled up, each looking slightly unnerved.

Kirito was the first one to speak. "So anyone have an idea of what to do?"

Sinon scoffed, crossing her arms. "Why don't you come up with a brilliant plan?"

Kirito's eyebrows scrunched up and he was about to retort before Jade's arm blocked his way. "That's enough, from both of you. We don't have the time to fight amongst ourselves."

Asuna nodded. "Jade's right. We need to think of a strategy to at least put them in a bad situation."

Argo grunted. "Then why don't you go out there and be cannon folder, noble? It would save us the trouble."

Asuna flinched before giving a low growl, which Argo returned in kind.

Lisbeth sighed and looked at the other recruits. "Do any of you have any idea of what we should do?"

Silica shook her head. "Sorry, but I'm not the best strategist and neither is Pina."

Suguha was trying to calm down Argo and she shook her head at the question.

Leo sighed. "I wish I knew something, but I'm not a good strategist."

Jade grunted. "I barely get the schemes and formations."

Eugeo looked to the side in thought. "We could try and attack them based on our strengths. Jade and Sinon could attack from afar while Lisbeth could lead the charge along with Kirito and me. In the meantime, the rest of you could attack when you see openings."

Yuuki shook her head. "No. Nee-san and Klein will be expecting that. The only way we could beat them is if we caught them off guard."

"Then we should use a non-straight forward approach." Sinon crouched down as everyone looked at her. "We should use something that doesn't involve attacking them directly. We need to isolate them. One team should be able to defeat Klein while the other team keeps Ran busy."

"That's a great idea Sinon!"

The blue-haired girl blushed at Jade's grin and praise. "It's nothing. The problem is how we split into teams."

Everyone looked at one another.

Kirito rubbed his chin in thought for a bit before speaking. "I'll handle the team that keeps Ran busy. I've fought her before and should know her strategies. Yuuki should be with me as well since she knows Ran better than any of us."

"So what about the rest of us Onii-chan?" Suguha asked.

Asuna spoke next. "I'll handle the team that attacks Klein. I've heard several things about him, and I believe I can find his weaknesses."

Kirito looked at the chestnut colored hair girl next to him. "Are you sure you can handle it?"

Asuna smirked. "Don't underestimate me, Kirigaya-san."

He grinned. "Call me Kirito."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Get a room you two."

Argo snickered. "If you two want some alone time, we'd be more than happy to give it."

Both S-ranks blushed. Jade shook her head. "Anyway, what should the teams look like?"

Sinon put her hand under her chin before speaking. "We should really focus on subduing Klein as quickly as possible. We won't be able to handle Ran for long, so it's important he goes down fast."

She stood up, eyes closed, and thought it over for a bit before opening her eyes. "Alright. Yuuki, Lyfa, Slicia, and me will team up with Kirito to keep Ran at bay." After seeing those four nod, she turned towards the others. "Meanwhile Jade, Lisbeth, Eugeo, Argo, and Leo will team up with Asuna to take care of Klein as quickly as possible."

"Great strategy, Sinon!" Silica praised her with one of her smiles.

Kirito nodded in agreement. "Yeah, if we pass this test you should become vice-captain."

Sinon scoffed, though a smirk appeared on her face. "Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer to remain in the back with my sniper rifle. Being second in command isn't for me."

Asuna punched her fist in her hand, a determined expression on her face. "Alright, let's go! I know we all may not get along, but let's all work towards the same goal!"

"Yes!"

* * *

"Hey Ran are you worried?"

"Hmm?" Ran turned around to stare at Klein. The red-haired samurai was leaning against a tree in the forest, arms crossed. "What brought that up Klein?"

Klein uncrossed his arms and looked at his friend. "Aren't you're worried that they won't work together? I mean, yesterday they blew that big mission and nearly got the hostages killed. Now they're put into a very stressful test, which could spark fights."

"If they can't get along, then they don't deserve to be on the Wings of Seraph."

Klein raised an eyebrow as Ran clenched her fists.

"Teamwork. That's something that's been important to this guild for as long as it's been around. I don't plan on changing it because their pride will get in the way. There's no room for solo acts in a guild, especially this one."

Klein nodded. "You're right. Sorry for questioning you."

Ran smiled and punched him softly on the arm. "Don't worry about it Klein. Though- wait, you hear that?"

Klein raised an eyebrow before hearing the sound of rustling in the bushes. He grasped his sword and the two tensed as they waited for what would come.

A squirrel dashed out from the bushes and climbed the trees.

The two let out a sigh of relief but still kept up their guard.

"Ten minutes have passed. You think they're-"

Klein was cut off by the heat rapidly approaching them. The two high ranked warriors turned around to see three fireballs racing towards them.

"Scatter!"

Ran and Klein jumped separate ways and avoided the attack. But that wasn't the end.

A shadow appeared in front of Klein. Before he could react, a mace slammed into him and sent him deeper into the forest.

"Klein!" Ran tried to give chase, but four others dropped down in front of her.

Kirito grinned and got into his stance. "Sorry, but if you want to get to them you'll have to go through us."

Ran smirked. "Isolation huh? Great strategy, but Klein won't be easy to take down."

Suguha smiled. "We know that, but we trust them. All we have to do is stall you."

"Is that so? Well, come at me!"

* * *

Klein grunted as he dodged a rain of throwing picks aimed at him. They thudded into a tree, but he didn't have time to acknowledge that as he blocked a rapier strike with his katana.

"Man, can't you all fight fair? Six on one is a real disadvantage."

Asuna pulled her rapier back and lunged towards him. It was fast, almost blinding.

The SS-ranked samurai dodged it, jumping back just out of reach.

Asuna prepared another attack. "I thought skilled veterans were ready for everything? Ran gave you a lot of praise for being such a whiner."

Klein smirked and raised his sword to block Leo's dagger strike. The two locked blades, but Klein was unyielding. "Hey, just because I don't think it's fair doesn't mean that I don't know your strategy. You're trying to take me out before Ran gets back huh?"

Leo grunted, placing his free hand on the dagger to apply more pressure. Klein narrowed his eyes and pulsed his sword with mana.

Asuna realized what the samurai was doing and called out. "Leo get back!"

Leo jumped back, Klein's sword falling to the ground without anything holding it back.

Klein grunted and turned his head, only to see bolts of lightning streaking towards him.

"Shit."

With no other way to defend himself, Klein raised his arm to block the lighting with the armored part. He let out a loud grunt of pain as the spell collided and he was pushed back.

He shook it off and turned once again to see Lisbeth and Eugeo charging towards him, weapons at ready.

"Haa!"

For a split second, Klein was surprised. He quickly recovered and slipped through the gap between the two, shocking the young warriors.

The samurai grabbed Lisbeth by her collar with his free hand and pulled her to the ground, disorienting her. After that, he turned and blocked Eugeo's strike, easily overpowering him, and struck the blonde in the stomach with the hilt of his blade.

Eugeo managed to conjure a small blast of wind into Klein's face as he fell, forcing the samurai to cover his eyes.

Asuna saw her chance and charged at Klein from behind, only to have to dodge an overhead strike.

The wind had barely affected Klein and he continued his assault, responding with another heavy overhead strike.

Asuna spun around the blade and, as it hit the ground, thrust her rapier towards the weak point in Klein's armor.

She had underestimated Klein's speed. In the time it took her to spun around, Klein had recovered his stance and had his sword at the ready.

He pushed the rapier aside and stepped in to counter. But before he could strike, he felt a breeze behind him. Immediately after, pain shot in his back and he gasped, giving Asuna the chance to slip away.

Klein turned his head around and saw Argo, smirking with her claw stabbed in his back. It wasn't a deep wound, but enough to cause him some pain.

"Sorry, but you left too much of an opening." The information broker's smirk widened into a grin. "And you wanted us to come at you guys with the intent to kill."

The SS-ranked samurai sighed and then spun around, hitting Argo in the chest with a swift palm strike.

Argo flew backwards and thudded to the ground. She looked at Klein in surprise as Leo moved to help her up. "How-?"

Klein pulled the claw out and smiled. "That was a good try, but I've been stabbed too many times in the past for something like this to slow me down. You should have added some paralyzing poison if you wanted to take me down." He smashed the claw against his armor, breaking it in two. "But I won't give you another chance."

He turned to Asuna and grinned as Lisbeth and Eugeo got up behind her. "You guys are going to have to try harder if you want to take me out before Ran gets here."

Everyone gritted their teeth in frustration.

Suddenly, the samurai coughed, a little blood trickling from his mouth. His movements were sluggish now and he felt light headed. "W-What?"

Argo smirked. "You don't think I expected that claw to stop you, did you? I may have put in a few needles with some light poison in your neck."

Klein's eyes widened. He hadn't felt any needles strike him. When did she get that chance?

Asuna smiled at Argo. "Nice job!"

Argo shrugged before her expression turned serious. "We need to take him out, quick. I don't know how long Ki-bou and the others can hold Ran off."

Everyone nodded and closed in on the red haired SS-rank.

The samurai sighed.

* * *

"Haa! Haa!" Yuuki charged at her older sister with a flurry of slashes.

Ran stepped around her sister's quick swipes and then flipped backwards, charging a spell.

She never finished it, as a mana bullet nearly connected with her head, breaking her concentration. A tree fell in the distance.

Sinon grunted from her cover and glanced at Kirito to see him nursing his wounds. She snarled, sounding every bit like a wild cat, and got his attention. "If you're done being a wimp, you're free to try and help your sister and the rest of the girls!"

Kirito glared at her. "Hey! You're not the one that was sliced by rock pillars! I thought you would make sure she didn't have the time to use those spells!"

Sinon looked through her scope, trying to focus on the fight. "I don't have time to argue with you! We need to keep her away from Asuna and the others!"

Kirito nodded leapt out of the bushes and charged towards Ran, who had locked blades with Suguha, with both of his swords at the ready.

Ran saw him coming and pushed the younger elf away, blocking both of Kirito's swords with her own. Kirito's weapons quivered in tension, but didn't yield.

"I'm impressed. Have you've been training since our last duel?"

Kirito grunted, pushing Ran back, and sent a series of swift slashes her way. "I have. I don't take losses lightly."

Ran chuckled and danced around Kirito's attack, easily dodging each strike. She stepped forward in the brief moment Kirito switched blades and met his dark blade with her own, pushing it to the ground. She raised her arm up and stopped Kirito's other arm, leaving him unable to use his that sword.

"I have to say, it's impressive how quickly you've improved. However…"

Ran grit her teeth and pushed Kirito's arm away. "You have a long way to go before you can match me Kirito." She snapped her sword away from Kirito's and made several blinding thrusts.

Kirito grunted, doing his best to dodge the strikes. He managed to avoid any wounds, but his jacket and shirt took several cuts, shredded by Ran's piercing strikes.

Ran kept up her assault, leaving Kirito no space to counter. After a fierce combo, she pulsed her sword with mana and brought it down in a heavy overhead smash with both hands on the blade.

Kirito raised his swords to block, but the sheer force of the blow sent him to his knees. His eyes widened in shock as his swords begin to shake from the effort. He grunted, trying to keep the powerful slash at bay. But it looked like he would fail.

"Wind Scythe!"

Ran cursed as a large blade of wind cut through the air towards her. She jumped back, the wind blade carving through the ground she where was just standing.

Kirito sighed in relief and dropped his blades to the ground. He noticed Pina, Silica's small dragon, fly over to him and give a small cry. It restored his strength and he stood up for a second round.

"Thanks Pina." He gave the dragon a light pat on the head, much to its delight, and turned towards Ran.

The SSS-ranked warrior was fighting Suguha and Silica at the same time. The younger girls tried their best, but Ran dodged their attacks with ease.

A gunshot rang out and Ran stumbled back a bit. One of Sinon's shots had finally connected, giving them an opening.

Kirito dashed towards Ran. Yuuki, who had been waiting for an opportunity, trailed by his side.

Ran clicked her teeth and released a burst of mana, throwing everyone back into trees. They fell down, groaning. She sprinted towards the bushes and pulled Sinon out. Despite the blue-haired girl's struggles, it was clear that she wouldn't escape under Ran's firm grasp.

"Not bad, but not good enough. Did you guys really think you could take me?"

"Let her go captain!"

Ran turn her head in surprise to see the other recruits approaching with Klein in tow. They forced him down on his knees and Leo placed his dagger at the samurai's neck. The others followed, each pointing their weapon at the samurai.

Ran laughed. "Wow, Klein! Didn't think you would get captured!"

Klein grunted. "Argo got some poison in my system. I couldn't think right."

Asuna cleared her throat. "Let our comrade go, or we will take the life of your comrade!"

Ran frowned, her blue eyes piercing the group. "You don't get it do you? I'm the enemy. A common thug, monster, or whatever. Do you think I would care if my comrade lives or dies?"

Everyone flinched, but no one as much as Sinon when Ran placed her sword against her neck. "Isolation was a good strategy, but it only works when you can defeat all the enemies. The team you sent towards me was overpowered and would have been killed."

She dropped Sinon on her rear and continued. "In other words, most of you would have been killed. That's not strategy. That's sacrifice, something the Wings of Seraph doesn't encouraged. We fight and die as a guild, a team. A family."

Everyone let the words sink in as Ran continued to talk. "For strategy, you all fail. That was one of the worst strategies you could have used in this situation, not to mention how poorly it was executed. Jade's the best healer. Didn't you think it would be better her to help the team fighting me? Kirito was getting thrashed in our fight. Look at him!"

The group looked at Kirito and had to admit she was right. The half-elf was covered in cuts and bruises, his clothes a tattered mess. Blood dripped from his mouth and he looked exhausted and his swords were cracked.

"He was forced to act as the tank of the team when you should have had Liz with him as well. She's supposed to take the most damage, because she's trained to. Instead, you were so focused on defeating Klein with as much power as possible that you left Kirito, who obviously wasn't meant to take hits, play the tank! What if you didn't take him down? The strategy goes straight to hell!"

Ran sighed. "I'm disappointed. In all of you."

Everyone put their heads down.

"However."

They looked up to see Ran grinning widely. "You guys worked like a team, even if separated. None of you tried to be heroes. You switched in when needed, and gave the others time rest." She turned towards the samurai. "What about your end Klein?"

Klein smiled. "They worked like a team Ran-chan. It was impressive."

Ran nodded. "Alright! Since you guys at least worked as a team, which was the main goal, you pass. Now, you guys just need to work on strategy and formations."

The group groaned and Ran laughed. "But welcome to the Wings of Seraph everyone. Welcome to the family."

Instantly, everyone's face brightened and they let out cheers of joy. Ran smiled and clapped her hands together.

"Let's get back to HQ! It's time for you guys to go through initiation. Also, someone carry Kirito back. The kid's too tired to make the walk."

Leo walked over and helped Kirito onto his back.

Asuna felt wobbly as well, but was helped by an arm from the last person she expected.

"Argo…"

The half-elf information broker grinned at the noble human. "Not bad Asuna. Maybe I misjudged you. How about we start over?"

Asuna nodded and gave her a brilliant smile. They walked together as Ran led everyone back to HQ.

* * *

Despite their troubles, that test had brought the group closer together than ever. Now, it was hard to even imagine that they used to be like that. Especially when they were filling out paperwork, like they were now.

"Done!"

Eugeo collapsed on the floor with a wide smile. Leo and Kirito gave him looks of jealously, grunting as they went back to their stack of paperwork.

Leo grumbled. "Of course scholar boy would finish first."

Eugeo looked up smugly. "Maybe if you read more instead of talking, you would be better at stuff like this."

Leo glared back at the blonde, a fireball forming in his hand. "You wanna say that again?!"

Kirito placed a hand on his hot-headed friend's shoulder. "Come on Leo, calm down. The quicker we finish, the sooner we can go home."

Leo snarled and let the fireball die down. "Fine, but if the prick says one more smart remark...!"

Jade scoffed. "You never do anything anyway, idiot."

Leo turned to glare at the guitar wielding elf. "Was I talking to you? No! Piss off!"

"Tch, your loud voice is bothering the rest of us. I'm just saying, quiet it down. Like I said, it's not like you do anything anyway."

"Oh? You want to test that out?"

"Sure I can spare a few minutes to kick your ass."

Kirito sighed, knowing it was just another day in their guild life. They had been like this since sometime after the initiation.

The two had gotten into a huge argument over an mission. Now, their fights were a daily occurrence. The two always fired each other up. They were just too similar in their wild natures. They were just...

"Like an old married couple."

Kirito turned in surprise to see Sinon standing next to him.

"Alright you two," Klein said. He stepped between the two and pushed them back to their piles of paperwork. "Break it up. You can fight _after_ you finish your work."

Kirito agreed as he got back to his paperwork. Leo sat next to him still angry, but Kirito smiled. Despite the obvious negatives...

He wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

**Over...12k...words...O.o I'm at a loss for words my friends.**

**Well this chapter was in a way hard to get out. Many distractions with college starting and a couple of personal issues. Also I changed a lot of my scenes But I got it out with the help of my beta, WhizKidHV. Check his stories out when given the chance if you haven't already.**

**The main fear I have is making Ran too OP. But that's to show how strong a SSS-rank is. And Ran's not an OC for those wondering. She's Yuuki's older sister who passed away before the events of Mother's Rosario. She was said to be much stronger then Yuuki, and considering Yuuki defeated a one handed sword Kirito. I can imagine Ran could even defeat dual-wielding Kirito if she tried hard enough. Also know that was a flashback when Kirito just reached S-rank. Even if they were to fight now, Ran would still win, but Kirito would put up a better fight.**

**Come on to the SAO Fandom Nexus Forum. Also check out the Writing 101 by Whiz. It's really helpful for starting out authors. Also join us on the chat where we have a fun time.**

**Not much else to say besides Read and Review. War for Kazuto will get an update next and Peace out.**

**Liexi**


	3. Gangs and Traps

Watching the the streets of Aincrad never got old...

Argo was sure of that as she sat against the wall of a store watching the crowds pass on by. It was an old habit from her younger years. Everyone in Aincrad had a different way they carried themselves, whether it was with fear, pride, or any other emotion.

She had always been an observant person. It helped her develop the silver tongue she's known for. She could get an idea of what type of person someone was just by looking at them. Whether they were someone she wanted to be around or avoid at all costs. Though she had to admit, her past would cloud that judgment at times.

She couldn't help it after what happened ten years ago.

_Bzzt!_

Radio static cut Argo from her thoughts as a female voice came from over the line.

"_Argo-san! Can you read me?!"_

The information broker placed a hand on her headset in her ear. "Yeah I can, Silica-chan. Is something wrong?"

"_Some of the gang members got away from Yuuki-san and me! Kirito-san went after a group of them, but the others are heading towards your area!"_

"How many?" Argo got up and began to go down a nearby alley. If they were just trying to escape, then the alleys were a good way to get away and escape into the crowds.

"_Three of them or so, please hurry! Once they get into the crowds, Yuuki-san says she won't be able to track them anymore."_

"Don't worry Silica-chan," Argo assured the younger girl. "As soon as I find them, they're done."

With that, the connection cut off. Argo took a deep breath before sending a small pulse throughout the area, trying to sense the how close the runaways were. _'They're close so I need to act fast.' _

She stopped next at the corner of the alley and tried to think of a plan. Finally, she grinned reaching into her cloak to grab ahold of something. _'Let's see how smart they really are.'_

* * *

On the other side, the three gangsters who had escaped Silica and Yuuki ran as fast as they could to escape their captors.

"Damn!" The green haired one gasped, beginning to slow down a little. "Those freaking brats won't give up!"

"Just keep running dammit!" This one had piercings all over his face. "Once we turn this corner and get into the crowd, those dumbasses won't be able to find us."

The woman of the group cackled. "And we'll make those brats pay later for this! I'm going to enjoy making those little girls scream!"

The pierced face thug was about to add to that when a small _Poof _was heard. White smoke rushed through the alley, blinding the three.

"Gah! What the hell is this?!" The woman yelled, having to cover her eyes to keep the smoke out.

"Crap! Did they find us already?!" The green haired thug crouched down, looking for a weapon. "Screw that! I ain't going to jail!"

His hand searched for something sharp or blunt. Finally, his hand landed on something rough as he wrapped his hand around it. Grinning, he was about to pull up before feeling a sharp pain in the back of his neck. Everything went dark, as he thought he heard small snickering behind him.

'_What the… hell?' _He then fell to the ground with a thud.

"Hey, Leonard! Why you so quiet now!?" The woman yelled. Hearing no response she turned around trying to make him out through the smoke. "Hey lazy ass! What's wrong with y-Kuh!"

She stopped talking, feeling two sharp objects pierce the back of her neck. Silently, she collapsed to the ground, eyes closed.

"Lyria!?" The remaining thug grunted as the smoke obscured his vision. "Dammit, what the hell is going on?!"

"It's called confusion, _human. _It seems to be very effective against you lot."

The thug looked around for the female voice. "Shit! Where are you hiding bitch?! Fight me!"

"Nishishi~" The voice cackled, her voice spreading throughout the alley as the smoke slowly begin to clear. "You want to find me? Be careful for what you wish for human!"

The thug, now being able to see, grabbed the pipe one of his friends had tried to use. He growled as he held it up, looking for the owner of the voice.

"Look out!"

"Huh!?" The man only had a second to turn around before two feet had planted themselves in his face. He was sent flying, his back landing on the asphalt. Cursing, he looked up to see a cloaked half-elf girl with whiskers. She grinned widely, placing a hand on waist.

"Oh? Looks like you have some durability after all, most would be knocked out after that kick. Congratulations!" Argo gave him a mocking clap, before reaching to her side to pull out a claw. "But I have things to do and people to see, you know. So let me wrap this up."

The thug stood up looking livid. "You… brat! I'll kill you for this!"

"Many have tried to kill me. None have succeeded."

"Well, let's fucking change that!" The angered thug roared, charging towards her at his weapon high in the air.

Argo, however, remained calm as the thug approached her. Crouching as he got in close, she held her claw at the ready.

"Die!" The pipe came down at her horizontally, but Argo was ready for it. She spun around him, and with a grunt, stabbed her claw into his back but only enough to get the tips in.

"Grah!" The thug stumbled forward before turning around. But before he could process what happened, Argo kept up her assault. She planted her foot into his stomach, dropping him to his knees. He coughed up blood as he felt his body grow weak. Looking up slowly, he snarled. "W-W-What did you do to me?"

Argo smirked mockingly. "Poison. Don't worry, it won't kill you. It does, however, weaken your body. So take a load off."

Argo sent a strong kick at the side of his neck, sending him to the ground and knocking him unconscious. She stretched for a bit before placing a hand on her radio.

"Nice to see you cleaning up house for once."

Argo grinned, turning around to see Kirito walking towards her with a smile. "Ki-bou~ Nice of you to join me! You missed all the fun though."

"Heh, don't worry I had my fun." Kirito pointed his thumb behind him. "Managed to round up two others who had managed to escape. They're with Yuuki and Silica right now."

Argo nodded, smiling. "Good. Now be a gentleman and help me get these other three back to them."

Kirito raised an eyebrow. "You want me to get all three of them?"

"Oh? I thought you had manners, Ki-bou." Argo gasped in mock shock, placing a hand over her mouth. "You would have a lady carry these bodies back all by herself?"

"I was thinking more that you could at least carry one…" Kirito sighed, crossing his arms. "I can carry two, but you have to at least take one, Argo."

Argo playfully waved her hand at him. "I know that Ki-bou. I'm just messin with ya."

"Sometimes, I wonder." Kirito walked towards the two male thugs, before lifting one onto his shoulders and grabbing one by the back of his collar, dragging him along.

Argo made a move to grab the female before looking behind her at the roof. Her eyes narrowed as she felt a strange pulse of mana.

"Hey Argo!" Kirito called, getting the girl's attention. "You're coming aren't you?"

Argo continued to look before resigning. "Yeah… let's go." She turned, dragging the female thug behind her. Kirito raised an eyebrow, before following after her.

Argo took another peek behind her. _'Strange. I'm sure I felt something…'_

As soon as the two turned the corner and were out of sight, a lone figure walked out into the hallway, grinning wickedly.

"_Impressive…"_

* * *

When the group of five had reunited, Silica had gotten straight down on her knees apologizing for letting the captives go. This combined with the tears in her eyes and Pina's sad look, made the two half-elves very uncomfortable. They spent a good three minutes getting the small girl to calm down.

Yuuki, however, was a bit less apologetic, giving only a simply small apology. It irritated Argo and Kirito a little, but they chose to let it slide for once due to their exhaustion. Besides, Ran would handle her once they got back to HQ.

Turning in the captives to the nearest police station and getting the slip that they needed to turn in for payment, the small group walked down the streets of Algade heading towards the guild and to finally get a break.

"Man…" Kirito sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's times like this I wish I had my motorcycle."

"Didn't Leo-san say he'd buy you a new one?" Silica asked. It was no secret amongst guild that Leo was saving some of his pay to help cover the costs of a new motorcycle for Kirito. He says it's because he owes Kirito over something he refuses to discuss. Argo joked that it was the pyro kinesis user's way of declaring his love to Kirito.

They had never seen so much fire in their lives when Leo heard that. Argo made note to never use that joke ever again.

"Yeah, he has," Kirito confirmed, crossing his arms. "But he said it'd take a while before he fully raised the money."

Argo snorted before grinning at Kirito. "If you're such a good friend, you'll buy it yourself and give him a break."

"I know." Kirito paused, smirking deviously. "But why do that when you have someone perfectly willing to buy one for you?"

"Oh? Looks like you're learning, Ki-bou."

Yuuki sighed. "The last thing we need is two Argos going around messing with everyone."

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad Yuuki-chan." Argo grinned at the youngest Konno. "It's just you happen to be such an easy target. Not my fault you walk right into them."

Yuuki blushed, letting out a low growl in response. Argo snickered to herself before looking at Kirito once again.

"So Ki-bou, you've noticed the decrease in monsters outside of the city lately?"

Kirito nodded. "Yeah. They say it's because of the Knights of Red Blood."

"That's the best guild in Aincrad right?" Silica asked, handing Pina a small piece of food to eat.

"Or so they proclaim." Yuuki looked annoyed as soon as the name came up. "With the exception of some, they're a bunch of arrogant jerks who think they're all that."

"But they have the skills to back it up," Kirito retorted, stopping to look at Yuuki. "Don't forget about that raid a year ago in the goblin's nest. They killed about sixty-two percent of the population."

Argo nodded, looking down at the ground. "They bark a lot, but they have the bite. They turned down Asuna-chan, who's a skilled fighter. Besides, you know they have Heathcliff as their leader and he doesn't welcome pretenders into his guild."

Yuuki sighed in defeat. That was a fact she couldn't argue against. The Knights of Blood picked their members carefully and had very high standards. You had to be someone they wanted or saw immense potential in.

"Still I don't like them." Yuuki gritted her teeth. "That high and mighty air they have around them. It irritates me."

Argo chuckled. "I can agree with that. As tough as they are, they're pretty arrogant."

"You need to learn how to ignore it Yuuki," Kirito scolded as the group resumed walking towards HQ.

Yuuki scoffed, already expecting Kirito to say that. "You don't think I've tried? Hell, some of them had the nerve to hit on me."

Silica giggled in response. "You should be happy Yuuki-chan! That means you're attractive."

"Yeah, and I'm attracting the wrong people." Yuuki cracked a small grin. "If all I'm going to attract are people like that, I'd rather be ugly."

The other three laughed at the joke. Kirito was about to retort when he collided with something.

"Whoa!"

"Kyaa!"

Kirito stumbled back, catching his balance before he fell thanks to a little help from Argo. Regaining his bearings, he looked down to see it was _someone _he had collided with.

It was a young elven girl who seemed to be a little younger than him. Her short blue hair seemed a bit ruffled from the collision and her green eyes squinted up in pain. Her clothing was a light blue battledress with a dark blue chestplate in the middle. However, what really stood out about her were the pointy ears on the side of her head.

Kirito eyes narrowed as he felt the girl's mana signature. _'Full-breed…' _He looked behind him to see Argo glaring at the girl. Apparently, she felt the same thing.

The girl winced as she tried to regain her bearings. Kirito let out a sigh, offering her a hand. The elf's eyes, now fully opened, looked up at the boy.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Kirito explained with a small smile. The girl shyly took his hand, as he helped her up.

"Um…" She paused before looking away nervously. "It's alright. I was running and not watching where I was going."

"Hey, you could speak up a little," Yuuki snickered, being able to barely hear the girl. "Why are you so quiet anyway? It's not like we're going to attack you."

"Oh! I'm sorry… it's just because…!"

"Because me and Ki-bou are half elves right?" Argo interrupted bluntly. She placed a hand to her side. "We're half breeds right? So why talk to someone inferior?"

The girl's green eyes widen. "No, I didn't mean it like that! I-I mean you're all half-elves… but-!"

Kirito felt a headache coming. This girl was more shy than Silica was during the first few weeks when the guild formed. He wasn't usually an impatient person, but he wished the girl would finish what she was saying so they could move on.

"Sachi!"

Everyone looked up to see a small group of elven males walking towards them. The elven girl smiled and hurried over to them.

The one in front of the group, who seemed to be about Kirito's age and had brown hair along with black armor patted the girl on the head. "You need to learn how to stop getting lost in crowds, Sachi."

Sachi pouted slightly at the group. "I wouldn't have gotten lost if Ducker-kun had waited where he said he was going to be."

"Heh, sorry about that Sachi. I saw something in one of the stores I had been looking for a while."

Sachi shook her head, smiling brightly. "It's alright Ducker-kun. Just give me a warning next time."

The group laughed as the Seraphs looked at each other. The girl seemed so timid and shy at first, but now she was more outgoing. Silently, they decided to head another way.

"Hey!"

'_Damn it!' _Kirito swore in his head, the three girls besides him having a similar thought. Turning around, they saw the group glaring at them except for Sachi, who seemed to be nervous.

"You weren't giving Sachi any trouble… were you?" the tall boy in the back asked as if trying to threaten the group.

Kirito let out a tired sigh. This prejudice hate towards half-elves got more and more annoying each time it happened. "No. We were actually on our way back to our guild's HQ. So can you save the half-elf hate for another day?"

"You should also be a little more careful when trying to threaten someone, full-breed." Argo advised, a glare on her face. "Keep underestimating someone, it'll be off with your head one day."

"Is that a threat?" The boy who seemed to be the leader took a step forward, but was intercepted by Kirito whose grey eyes displayed calmness despite the situation.

"Look, we don't want any trouble. So let's just go our separate ways alright?" Kirito proposed, ready to take any action if necessary. Yuuki begin to reach for her sword as Pina growled from on top of Silica's head.

The elf gritted his teeth before feeling someone grab his arm. He turned to see look at the other elven boy in the group, who had curly black hair and a hat on his head. He shook his head.

"We're attracting attention Keita. Let's just drop it."

To show his point, the hat wearing elf gestured to the crowd that was forming around them. Keita grunted before turning away. He looked at his group of friends.

"Let's go." He uttered and they soon begin to walk away. Sachi, however, took one last look at Kirito before turning around. Her eyes looking hesitant as Keita begin to rant about half-breeds.

* * *

The next day back at the Guild HQ, Kirito stretched out onto the sofa in the living room, trying to get as comfortable as possible. Finding just the right position, he closed his eyes and began to doze off before feeling a weight suddenly plopped down on top of him.

"Hmm?" He opened one of his eyes to see Argo grinning right at him, in quite the position. He sighed, knowing this was one of Argo's teasing attempts. "Argo… what are you doing?"

Argo leaned in a little closer. "Why, you seemed to be comfy on this sofa, so I decided to join you. Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"A little, if you consider where you're lying. I would like to get some rest." Kirito answered bluntly. He sat up, using the arm of the sofa to support himself as he gave Argo a small glare.

Argo, however, ignored it and her grin widened to the point it reminded Kirito of the Cheshire Cat in one of those storybooks he used to read to Suguha when they were younger. She leaned in close to his chest. "You know… we used to sleep together when we were younger whenever I came over. I kinda miss those years."

"Argo… we are not sleeping on this sofa together."

Argo pouted cutely. "Oh come on, Ki-bou. Don't be such a bore!"

"Argo, I said-."

"Kirito, are you in here? I h-." A familiar voice started softly before stopping.

Both Argo and Kirito flinched as they looked to see Asuna standing near the door along with Eugeo and Leo. Everyone froze in the room, eyes wide in surprise.

Leo smirked slightly. "Not on the sofa you two. People sit there."

Kirito's face turned red while Argo looked annoyed, getting off of Kirito. "Don't you all know how to give a warning before entering?"

"There's no door to the lounge, Argo." Eugeo answered, walking over to take a seat on the other couch.

The layout of the HQ was a two floor building. In the front was a receptionist desk where clients came to give missions; usually one of the members took the mission down. To the right and left was a hallway, the left one leading to the lounge room while the right one led to the meeting room. Behind the desk was another hallway that led to backyard of the HQ and the kitchen. To the side of that hallway was another set of stairs, but Ran had a magical barrier over it saying no one was allowed upstairs besides herself and Klein.

Not even Yuuki…

Back to the situation at hand, Argo sneered at the magic swordsman. "I thought I told you to keep your thoughts to yourself, Eugeo…"

"I could say the same for you, Argo." Eugeo countered his tone dry. He and Argo had been like fire and water for a long time. His uptight and serious nature clashed with Argo's easygoing and laidback attitude. If it wasn't for Kirito or Suguha, he doubted he'd even tolerate her. He did, however, respect her abilities, and when it came to work, she could do her part and more.

He couldn't tell if Argo felt the same though.

Argo huffed, knowing there was no arguing with Eugeo. To her side, Kirito let out a long sigh. These two were becoming a bigger headache if that was even possible. He raised an eyebrow, noticing something. Turning, he looked in Asuna's direction.

Only to visibly flinch at the dark glare the vice-captain of the Seraphs was giving him. Her eyes seemed to burn with a calm rage as a shadow formed over her face, killing intent leaking from her. Interestingly, Kirito seemed to be the only one who could feel it as the other three seemed to be fine and ignorant of Asuna.

Unable to take it any longer, Kirito stood up in a hurry. "I-I need to go take care of something!" Before anyone can question him, Kirito was already down the hallway.

"Okay…" Leo muttered, his eyebrows raised. "What's up with him?"

Asuna huffed, crossing her arms. "_Men…"_

* * *

Kirito panted, stepping outside into the yard of the HQ. As many enemies he had faced in his life, women still scared him. Something he learned from his sister, Suguha, whenever she got upset. Not considering the fact that he thought Asuna the scariest of all the girls he knew.

'_Just what was her problem?' _Kirito wondered, walking over to one of the trees to sit down against the tough bark.

He and Asuna had a strange relationship if he could call it that. When it came to missions, the two worked well together and even received praise for their teamwork at times.

Outside of missions however, was a different story. Asuna and him never really got along even after the year they worked together, due to their conflicting outlooks. It was similar to Argo and Eugeo's relationship. Asuna was uptight and serious, while Kirito was relaxed and easy-going. Doing things such as sleeping during meetings, barely paying attention to her reports, his bluntness, and a few other things that he didn't consider important always seem to put him on the rapier-user's bad side.

A few weeks ago, he had asked Lisbeth privately what Asuna had against him. Strangely, the blacksmith just grinned and said Asuna was just not being truthful with herself. She refused to answer any other questions about the topic after that.

'_What did she mean "Not being truthful with herself?" ' _Kirito asked himself that question at times. He disliked being on the bad side of someone he had to trust with his life out on the battlefield. Still, he wondered why Asuna had gotten so angry with him back there. It was just Argo teasing him, so what was the problem besides Argo straddling him in the middle of the room?

"Ah! There you are Onii-san!"

Kirito looked up to see Suguha approaching him, a bright smile on her face. The young blonde elf took a seat next to her brother. "What are you doing out here?"

Kirito smiled wryly. "Trying to get away from the chaos."

Suguha returned his smile, equally as wryly. "Argo, I take it?" Seeing her brother nod, she continued. "What happen this time?"

"Oh nothing, but straddling me on the sofa."

Not surprisingly, Suguha broke out into laughter. Kirito let out a small grunt crossing his arms.

"That girl… I'm still confused as to why she continues to tease me to this day."

Suguha stopped laughing, grinning at her brother. "It's because that's who Argo is. Though, she has been teasing you more often lately."

Kirito sighed, putting his arms behind his head and leaning against the tree. "Well, no point in thinking about it. It's just Argo being Argo."

"Heh, you haven't changed at all Onii-san."

Kirito cracked a small smile at that. "I guess not. Have to enjoy the moments of peace you get, Sugu."

The blonde elf's nodded silently, opting to look at the sky. She enjoyed the little moments like this with her brother. Considering they never came frequently, it was nice to just be a family and not have to worry about fighting for your life.

Suguha leaned back against the tree herself. "I guess I could use some rest myself."

Kirito hummed in approval, getting ready to close his eyes to go asleep.

"Hey Kirito!"

Only to open them up again as a voice called him. Kirito's experssion turned annoyed for a second. It would take a miracle for him to finally get some rest.

Sighing sadly, he turned to see Lisbeth standing at the entrance to the HQ. She beckoned her hand, her eyes saying 'We need to talk.'

* * *

"A mission asking for just us?"

In the meeting room, Kirito and Asuna stood at the head of the table with a puzzled expression on his face. Sitting in the chair besides him was Ran, who had her arms crossed and was staring at the sheet of paper.

Ran turned grinning widely at the two. "Your names are getting out there, Kirito and Asuna! Not every day do people personally ask for your help."

"Heh, I guess I am…" Kirito muttered, a little embarrassed by the praise.

"Y-You flatter me, Captain." Asuna whispered, blushing at the praise.

"Lucky…" Lisbeth mumbled, a little jealous of her best friend.

Ran snorted before looking to the other side at Lisbeth. "Still though… Liz, you said you didn't see the person who gave this request?"

The blacksmith shook her head in a negative manner. "No, and it was weird. I had my back turned for a minute and then I heard the door open. When I turned back around, no one was there and all I saw was this paper on the desk."

"Well… that certainly doesn't sound suspicious. Not in the least." Kirito drawled, sarcasm dripping from his tongue.

"And the request is mysterious itself…" Ran added, picking the letter up. "_We require the help of The Black Swordsman and The Flash. We cannot give details, just know that we desperately need their help and will pay handsomely for assistance. You will find one of us in South Algade near Sandy's Convenience Store." _

"They might as well put the words "Most Definitely Not A Trap" at the end of the paper." Lisbeth remarked sarcastically.

"South Algade?"

The four looked up to see Leo, his hand in a bag with chips as he munches on them, a crunching sound echoing through the room. His expression seemed surprised as he walked closer to the group.

"You said South Algade right? No doubt about it, that's a trap."

Lisbeth raised an eyebrow at the dark-skinned boy. "Oh? What makes you think that?"

"Because that is the bad part of town. Gangs make that their freaking territory. Don't forget, I used to live there." Leo answered, putting the bag of chips down and rubbing his hands on the side of his pants. "Someone's obviously trying to set Kirito and Asuna up and jump them."

"It is pretty obvious, the request screams trap." Kirito commented, grabbing the piece of paper. "Guess there's no choice but to pitch it in the trash now."

"Now don't be so hasty there, Kirito." Ran called, grabbing Kirito's hand stopping him. "This could actually be a good thing."

"How so…?" Kirito asked. Ran let go, leaning in the back of her chair for a second as if pondering something. She slowly begin to smile as a plan formed in her head.

"Get Sinon and Argo here. I've got a mission in mind. You're also involved Leo, so get ready."

"Aw…" Leo groaned. "But I was on break."

"No excuses!" Ran yelled, smiling widely.

* * *

South Algade was crap in Sinon's opinion.

She hated it here. Everybofy thought they were better than somebody else. A paper making company wasn't far from where they were, so it stunk. Finally, it was the gang part of town, so you had to worry about getting mugged every few minutes.

She turned to look at Leo, who had a pair of black binoculars in his hand as they stood on a rooftop of an abandoned building. It was the fact that Leo managed to survive in this part of town that earn him some of the sniper's respect.

Sinon internally sighed as she looked through the scope of her rifle which was perched on a small wall of bricks. Her sights landed on Kirito and Asuna, who were walking casually along the sidewalk. It was noon, and the streets weren't all that crowded due to it being in the middle of winter. She didn't mind the cold weather though, she was used to it.

"I hope this is a good idea…"

Sinon titled her head to look at Leo, who, surprisingly looked, nervous. This made Sinon do a double-take, as Leo was usually one of the more confident members.

"It'll be alright, Leo." A high voice interrupted, followed by the sounds of footsteps coming across the hard ground of the rooftop. Both Seraphs turned around to see Argo walking towards them, her hands in her pocket. She crept slowly across the old roof, as if she made one careless movement she would fall right through it.

"You sure about that?" Leo questioned, going back to his binoculars to look at Kirito. "We're pretty much putting Kirito and Asuna in a dangerous situation right here."

Argo gave him a small grin. "We're just sending Ki-bou and Asuna-chan into a hostile territory. What's the worst that can happen?"

"…Do you really want me to answer that, Argo?"

Argo snickered as if it were an old joke she found funny. "I'm sure they'll be alright. They just needs to play it smart and they'll be fine."

"And if things get out of hand, that's when we strike." Sinon continued, putting her focus back on her scope. "So be ready."

"Don't you think we could use more people though?" Leo continued, frowning. "This is pretty dangerous, even for us."

"It'd be even more dangerous if we used more people." Sinon retorted, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "If we did, we'd be much easier to detect."

Leo sighed, leaning against the bricks. "To think… gangs are actually starting to attack guild members now."

"Yeah…" Argo eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "They never were this bold before. Something's definitely up."

"It's as Ran said. Gang activity has been increasing lately." Sinon exhaled, an icy air forming in front of her from the cold weather. "Hopefully, we can find out why."

Leo and Argo nodded and proceeded to look out for trouble.

* * *

Kirito and Asuna walked across the sidewalk of the street, ignoring the curious and dangerous looks of pedestrians as they passed by. Whether it was Kirito being a half elf or the rich aura Asuna seemed to have around her, the two had given up on trying to not attract unneeded attention. It seemed to follow them.

"Okay…" Asuna started, looking back behind her shoulder at Kirito. "You know what to do right?"

Kirito nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, shouldn't be too hard. All we got do is play by their rules for a bit, and give the signal for the others to act."

"Be careful, Kirito." Asuna warned, looking down at the ground. "We're playing a very dangerous game here."

"Trust me… I know."

The two soon arrived at the closed convenience store that the letter had advised them to visit. Asuna sat against the wall outside the convenience store, watching the streets for any sign of their client. Strangely, the area seemed to be emptied which was a rare thing in this part of Algade.

"Here."

She looked up to see Kirito handing her a can of soda. He smiled slightly at her confused expression. "It's on me. Don't worry about paying me back."

"Hmph." Asuna took the can, popping it open. "I wasn't going to pay you back anyway, considering I didn't ask for one."

"…That's true…" Kirito muttered, sitting down a few inches away from her. He placed the can on his lips, enjoying the flavored liquid run down his throat. He placed the can down, looking lazily at the crowds. It was like that for a few minutes, not a word spoken between the two. Kirito was actually contemplating taking a nap.

"…Hey Kirito."

"Hm?" Kirito turned to look at Asuna, who seemed to be in thought. "What's up Asuna?"

"Why did you choose to become a warrior?"

"Wha?" Kirito looked confused at the question. "Where's this coming from Asuna?"

Asuna let out an annoyed sound. "I'm asking a question, Kirigaya-san. From what I heard from Liz, you've been concern about me disliking you."

Kirito flinched at the glare Asuna was giving him. "Oh… yeah, I guess…." He made a mental note to get back at Lisbeth once they were done here.

"So why did you become a warrior?"

"Hmm…" Kirito put a hand on his chin, before shrugging. "Honestly, just to be able to provide for me and Sugu. Swords are one of the only things I'm good at, so why not make a living off of it?"

"That's it?" Asuna blurted, stunned by such a simple reason. "The only reason you fight is to make a living? Couldn't you just find another job?"

"You say that like it's an easy thing, Asuna." The half-elf retorted, glaring slightly at the noble. "It's hard for half-elves and their relatives, full-blooded or half-blooded, to get decent work. It was either this, or some low budget job as a servant and there is no way I'm going to become one of those or I'm going to allow Sugu to become one."

Asuna looked a bit stunned at the information. "Strange… there are several rich half-elf families in the neighborhood I stay at."

"Because they have deep connections." Kirito explained in an unintended harsh tone. "They have family in government, or their ancestors invented some useful technology that's being used today. Something along those lines. The point is that they had it made already so they have no reason to work."

"I…see." Asuna couldn't find another word to say to that, and remained silent. Of course that was the answer, it was so obvious. Not only that, but Kirito's tone had caught her off guard.

Kirito exhaled, thinking he had come off as too aggressive. He hadn't meant to sound harsh, but the topic had brought up sour feelings he had felt he already suppressed when he was younger.

He hated half-elven nobles back when he was a kid. How they lived the good life, while the unfortunate ones suffered. He was ignorant back then, but he had thought he had grown out of it.

He looked towards Asuna, who seemed to be in thought. Sighing, he opened his mouth, an apology about to come out…

When an explosion rang out, sending him flying across the street before crashing against the asphalt in a harsh manner. He groaned, sitting up, black coat singed and his ears ringing, to look at where he was sitting when his eyes widened.

"Asuna!" he yelled, concerned for his teammate. He ran towards where the explosion had taken place before catching a glimpse of silver in his vision. Instincts kicking in, he tilted his head to the left feeling something gaze his cheek. Wincing slightly, he raised his hand to give it a small touch before looking at his fingers to notice a red liquid.

'_Blood…'_

"Hahaha! How did you like that surprise?!" A female voice called out.

Looking up, Kirito saw a strange sight. It was a girl who seemed to be several years older than him. Her long purple hair fell all the way down to the middle of the back of her curvy figure, as her purple eyes glinted in the moonlight showing mischief. She was wearing what seemed to a blue sports bra top along with matching shorts. Long loose black sleeves clothed both arms, and a white scarf hung around her neck. Lastly, she wore ninja like boots with long black socks, a holster resting against her leg. However, what really caught Kirito's attention was the naginata that rested against her back and the fact she was standing on the burning building.

The girl grinned widely, as if ignorant of what she just did. Kirito stood there, silently, trying to assess the situation. Was this girl the one who caused the explosion?

"I know what you're thinking." The girl suddenly sounded, jumping off of the burning convenience store roof. "However, I couldn't care less. Know that… someone wants you and your friends dead and I intend to do just that."

"Wha-?" Kirito didn't have the chance to finish, before the girl dashed towards pulling out her naginata. He grunted pulling out both swords as they clashed.

* * *

Asuna dodged several icicles sent flying towards her, weaving in between them in the alleyway. She grunted her teeth, attempting another charge before having to jump back to dodge a fireball that smashed into the ground.

Her opponent stood down the alley was a young male, his back turned away from the burning explosion. His short silver hair fell to his neck and grey mage robes he was wearing seemed a bit too big for him. His grey eyes glared at the vice-captain of the Wings of Seraph, his mouth twitching into smirk.

He twirled the wooden staff in his hands, before slamming the base to the ground. Asuna tensed, and dodged to the side avoiding a trail of fire.

"Who are you all?!" Asuna demanded, her tone waning a little from exhaustion. The boy remained silent, and begin to charge a spell.

'_Oh no you don't!' _Asuna sprinted towards him, rapier ready

The mage mutter a curse dodging the thrust from the girl after canceling the spell.

Asuna put a foot out in front of her to stop before twirling on it to deliver another thrust. However, the boy put up a hand to defend himself as her rapier connected, a blue barrier forming pushed her back.

Asuna skidded to a halt, an annoyed expression on her face. _'A symbol shield, that's going to make things harder.' _She got back into her stance ready to strike once again.

* * *

"Guh!"

Leo grunted as he was sent back, before kneeling over to grab his stomach. He coughed blood, before hearing a yell above him.

Looking up dazed, he saw a white haired girl with pink eyes wearing a large white long-sleeved tunic and blue Capri shorts underneath. Her shoes were toupe colored combat boots. However, the thing that Leo was paying attention to was the giant hammer in her hands.

Leo flinched as the hammer came down at a fast rate. She was about to strike him when a shadow appeared in front of her.

"Hah!"

Argo roundhouse kicked the girl, sending her flying onto the rooftop right next to them. The girl went crashing through the weak structure, a loud sound signaling a painful fall.

Argo landed on the ground, panting slightly. "Damn… should've known this wouldn't be easy."

Leo grunted, standing up painfully. "Damn bastards got the jump on us. They were one step ahead of us."

Argo didn't say a word as she looked to her side to see an unconscious Sinon. When the girl had appeared, she had knocked Leo and her aside. Sinon had tried to attack her using a combat knife, but the girl had sidestepped her and kicked the sniper hard in the head. She had seen Sinon's head hit the ground hard, and she looked like she had a concussion. The enemy would have killed Sinon if it wasn't for Leo hitting her in the back with a fireball.

"Leo, check up on Sinon and try to get some help." Argo ordered, pulling out her claw and attaching it to her hand. "I'm going to hold her off."

"Are you crazy?!" Leo blurted, shocked at what the Rat said. Had Argo lost her mind? "That girl will destroy you."

"That's why I said I'll _hold her off _not _defeat _her." Argo's tone was dry and humorless as she turned to look at Leo. "This girl is S-rank at least. She's too much for you."

Leo's face begin to grow malicious, his vision turning red. "_Don't underestimate me Argo…" _

Argo remained calm despite the anger the boy was excluding. "I'm not, but what's more important? Making sure Sinon's safe or proving yourself?"

Leo sighed angrily. She had him there. He walked over to the injured sniper, putting her on his back. "Fine, but don't think this is over, Argo."

Argo smirked wryly at him. "Heh. Wouldn't dream on it Leo-_chan._"

Leo blushed slightly and turned around, jumping across the roofs and muttering about 'Damn Argo.'

Argo snickered slightly to herself. Teasing Leo never got old, even in the most serious situations. He just got flustered too easily.

"You done saying your goodbyes?"

Argo frowned, turning around to see the girl standing on the roof across from her, her hammer in hand. Blood leaked from her forehead, staining her light colored clothes with red.

"Yeah… though it really wouldn't count as a goodbye, considering I'll see him later." Argo paused to get into her stance. "After I deal with you of course."

The girl closed her eyes, before her mouth opened. "Argo the Rat. Age 15 and S-rank. Known as the "The Rat" among several guilds for her whisker marks. An information broker and the unofficial scout for the Wings of Searph."

"Oh? Someone's been doing their research." Argo smirked. "Do they mention my charming wits or great figure?"

The girl ignored the question, getting into a stance. "My name is Sayaka and I hope you are ready to die, Argo."

With that, she charged towards Argo, who did the same.

* * *

Kirito roared, slashing his Elucidator in a horizontal manner at the enemy. However, the girl jumped over it easily and pulled out three kunai from her holster.

"Take this!"

Kirito raised his other sword to block the throwing weapons as the girl landed softly on the ground. She twirled her naginata in her hand before thrusting it towards Kirito. Kirito sidestepped quickly, though the blade managed to take a piece of his shirt.

He pulsed his foot with mana, giving him an extra burst of speed as he raised both swords. The girl, however, was one step ahead and quickly disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kirito groaned internally. _'This is why I hate fighting ninjas!'_

He twirled to the side, narrowly avoiding a stab from behind. The girl cursed, pulling her pole arm back before disappearing in a puff of smoke again. Kirito stopped in his tracks, trying to sense where she was hiding.

The girl appeared right above him, holding three kunai in each of her hands. With a cry, she flung them downwards as Kirito raised his swords to block them, the knives falling harmlessly to the ground.

The ninja landed on the ground, putting away her naginata in favor of two kunai in her hands. She dashed towards Kirito, who brought up his blades to defend himself. She slashed towards with her left, charging the kunai with mana to give it a power boost. Kirito raised his blade, blocking the attack before slashing towards her with Dark Repulser.

"Tch!"

The girl pushed backwards to avoid the slash as Kirito advanced towards her. He sent several blinding thrusts towards her, but the girl's natural agility allowed her to dodge each one of them. As he pulled back, the girl sent a kick right towards his face. Kirito ducked under it and swept for her other leg, but the girl leapt high in the air. Charging his legs with mana, Kirito leapt towards her.

"Ragh!" Kirito roared, slashing at her in an X-formation. However, the ninja was already expecting the attack and disappeared once again, dodging it. She quickly appeared and kicked Kirito in the unguarded stomach. Flipping in midair, she then gave him an axe kick to the head sending him to the ground painfully.

"Guh!" Kirito looked up dazed, only for his eyes to widen as he saw several shuriken sent towards him. He rolled to the side to avoid them as they implanted themselves into the ground. He got back up onto his feet, to see the girl dashed towards, naginata pointed right at him.

Kirito grunted, dodging to the side as the spear collided into the ground, kicking up dust and broken pieces of asphalt everywhere. The girl snarled, but wasn't prepared for the blade that came roaring through the dust. She barely had enough time to open her hand and form a small barrier, before being sent flying purely from the impact. She managed to regain her bearing as she placed a hand on the ground and flipped to a crouching position, her boots screeching before coming to a stop.

She looked up at Kirito, a smirk on her slightly tired face. "Heh. You're everything the client said you'd be. Haven't faced an equal in close combat in a while."

"Who hired you?" Kirito demanded, getting back into his stance.

The girl laughed loudly, annoying him. "As if I know!" Kirito's eyes widened. She didn't know her own client?! "All I was told was to kill you, and we'd get paid. They even said we'd have fun…."

The girl's grin seemed to become more malicious as she leered at him. "And I'm having fun alright… I should tell you my name as a sign of respect since you've earn it." A red aura seemed to form around the girl, as Kirito took a step back. "My name is Koyuki…and let's enjoy this battle to its fullest!"

She charged towards Kirito, naginata in hand as he got ready.

* * *

Asuna felt like a cornered rat and she hated it. The fight had spilled over to an abandoned construction area. Here she was, hiding behind a wall from a rogue mage. Talk about having pride…

She panted, pulling off a burnt sleeve of her dress and exposing her injured left arm. She winced as she gave it a slight touch, sending a small amount of pain through her. The noble calmed herself before placing hand over it, a light green aura encoated the injured spot.

'_Damn mage. I can't get close to him, nor do I have time to use my spells.'_

"You're going to come out of hiding, Seraph? Or are you going hid like a little rat?"

The teasing voice from the mage caused a quiet growl to escape from Asuna's mouth. She really wanted to make him pay, but if she rushed at him, she'd be bombarded by spells.

"You know I can find you right?" Asuna's eyes widened, feeling the heat around the area increase. "All I need is a little fire… and… THERE!"

Asuna begin to run as fast as she could, just before the wall behind her exploded. She fell to the ground before getting up, albeit wobbily. She pointed her weapon towards the mage as he calmly stalked towards her, trying to regain her stance.

"You seem shaken…" A dark glow covered his hands as he smirked. "What are you so scared of?"

"I'm not scared of you!" Asuna spat, trying to hold on to her pride. She couldn't give the enemy even a slight psychological advantage over her.

The mage laughed as if it was a funny joke. "Says the girl who reeks of fear. You're afraid, because you know I'm going to kill you. That I'm going to rip you apart, and _there's not a damn thing you can do about it." _

Asuna's eyes narrowed. "Then instead of wasting our time… why don't you try."

"Hmph!" The mage sent a blast of black energy towards her, which she dodged swiftly. She pushed off her foot, dashing towards the mage.

"That's not going to work girl!" The mage yelled, sending several bolts of lighting towards her. Asuna gritted her teeth, jumping into the air. The mage smirked, sending several fireballs at her.

Asuna, however, had seen this coming. Quickly calling a chant under her breath, she formed a purple barrier in front of her as it absorbed the spell. The mage's eyes widened as Asuna closed in on him, rapier pointed right at him.

"Useless!" He held up his right hand, a shield appearing before him. Asuna gritted her teeth, turning her body and pulling her rapier back. She managed to land behind the mage, much too his dismay.

"Hah!" She made several thrusts towards his back, trying to hit vital regions. The mage let out a pained yell as he was flung back, hitting the ground hard. Asuna sighed, relieved that she finally managed to connect with her attacks but annoyed that she knew this fight was far from over and she didn't have much strength, or mana left.

The mage got up, his magical robes torn in the back from the blows. He smiled in amusement. "Not bad, you managed to hit me…. I think it's time we turn this up a notch."

Asuna's eyes widened as a fiery aura seemed to rise around him. He grinned, smashing his staff onto the ground with a loud bang, before a concentrated beam of fire went flying straight towards the Searph, who was too weakened to move.

Only for it to suddenly disappear as a blue light hit against it.

The mage's eyes widened, seeing the attack be easily destroyed. "What?!"

"Chrome. SS-rank rogue mage with a large bounty worth over 1 million col…." A male voice drawled, followed by the sounds of sharp footsteps.

Asuna gasped at the sound of the voice. There was only one person she knew with that voice…

They both turned to see a tall young man stalking towards them. He had messy brown hair that went with his chestnut colored eyes. He was wearing a red and white armor that was famous among many in Varld. A great sword was gripped tightly in his left hand, as he lifted it with no signs of effort despite the size.

"Nii-san…"

The word escaped Asuna's lips, as the mage looked on in surprised.

Kouichirou Yuuki lifted up his sword, pointing it right at Chrome.

"Now may I ask why you're attacking my sister?"

* * *

"Urgh!"

Argo went flying into the ground, crashing with a loud thud. She looked up groggily to see Sayaka coming down with her hammer. She quickly managed to jump onto another rooftop as Sayaka's hammer slammed against the roof.

"Damn, the way you swing that hammar makes me think you have some serious issues." Argo joked, a grin on her face.

Judging from her current condition, one would be amazed about how she could still joke. She looked exhausted, blood came from her busted lip and closed left eye, and she was favoring her right leg.

Sayaka gave no response, simply charging at Argo once again. Argo clicked her teeth, quickly throwing several throwing picks at her. Sayaka simply held up the hilt of her weapon, deflecting the throwing weapons.

Argo leapt over the horizontal swing, landing a few feet away from Sayaka. Sayaka couldn't help but be slightly impressed. Even injured, Argo still was moving at fast speeds. She had no time to admire much as she continued her assault. Argo dodged several swings before ducking under one and spinning behind the hammer wielder. The Rat punched forward with her claw hand. However, her speed was affected by her injuries and Sayaka managed to dodge the attack.

"Damn-!"

Argo didn't have much of a chance to finish, before Sayaka kicked her in the side of her head, sending her back. Argo skidded against the ground before coming to a stop. Rubbing her head, she looked to see Sayaka pulling her hammer.

"Haa!" She threw the heavy weapon towards Argo whose eyes widened as she quickly moved to the side to dodge it.

Argo panted, but still had on her smirk. "Heh, I'm starting to wonder if you're even human." Sayaka smirked slightly as her weapon returned to her outstretched hand.

"Heh. I hear that a lot." Sayaka's face seemed to on a look of slight sadness, before it quickly returned to it's stoic expression. "Either way, it's time for you to d-."

The loud whistling of the air cut her off as Sayaka looked up to see six waves of energy approaching her. She jumped back as they smashed into the ground.

"Argo!"

Argo looked up to see a familiar figure with blond hair jumped down in front of her followed by another one with dirty blond hair. She sighed in relief. "It's about time you two showed up."

Eugeo ignored the remark, opting to keep his attention on his enemy. "Leo made it to the guild and told us of the situation. Sinon's injured, but she'll be alright."

"That's good…" Argo whispered, have been very concerned over the sniper's condition. It brought her great relief to know she'd be alright.

"Klein and Ran are on their way as well, as the others are out on missions and Jade's healing Leo and Sinon." Lyfa reported, pulling out her blade. "Where are Onii-chan and Asuna-san?"

Argo gritted her teeth. "I don't know, but we have to find them. I'm pretty sure they got jumped too."

"Tch! Damn it!" Eugeo cursed, frustrated by how things went to hell in such a bad way.

Sayaka grunted, not liking the odds all of a sudden. Argo was already giving her enough trouble, so adding it two other enemies would be a bad idea.

She had no choice… she had to retreat.

"You think we'll give you a chance?!"

Sayaka instinctively ducked under a sword swipe from Lyfa that would have surely taken off her head. She then was forced to hold up her hammer as she was pushed back by several ice pillars from Eugeo.

'_This is going to be tougher than I thought….'_

* * *

If there was one thing Chrome was sure of now…

You do not mess with a Knight of Blood member's sister.

The third wall he was sent through could vouch for that…

The mercenary mage stood up in pain to see Kouichirou stalking towards him, his expression uncaring as to the pain his opponent was going through. Chrome growled, his hands lighting up with fire.

However, Kouichirou simply lifted up his sword as a blue aura pulsed around it. A az blast went through the area as Chrome noticed the fire in his hands died down. As soon as that registered with him, he was sent flying by Kouichirou's sword before sliding to a stop on the ground.

"Fucking… Templar… skill users!" Chrome muttered obviously in serious pain.

Those trained in Templar abilities were the bane of every magic user. Their ability to not only resist magic at a high rate, but outright cancel it annoyed mages to no end.

Kouichirou stabbed his sword into the ground, leaning against it. "You can give yourself in peacefully… or I can kill you. Your choice, though know I'll make it as painful as possible if you choose to fight."

While on the outside he was calm, looking at his younger sister in bad shape kicked in from his older brother instincts. It didn't matter how old or skilled Asuna was, she was his younger sister and anyone who hurt her… had to deal with him.

To his mild surprise, Chrome begin to chuckle before it turned into a small laugh.

"You really think I'd allowed myself to get captured?" He pointed his hand in Kouichirou's direction, making the boy raise an eyebrow.

"You sure you want to try that?" Kouichirou warned, pulling his sword out of the ground and pointing it towards Chrome. "I'll just cancel it once more."

Chrome simply smirked before firing the fireball… except it wasn't aimed for Kouichirou.

The blazing ball of fire went right past the Knight of Blood and towards the sky, crashing into a hanging platform of beams and sending them down.

Right towards Asuna.

Kouichirou's eyes widened as he begin to sprint towards his sister, who looked up briefly gasping in shock as the beams closed in on her.

"Move, Asuna!"

An arm wrapped around the girl as she felt herself pulled away from the spot. The beams made a loud crashing sound as they landed on the ground, kicking up dust. Asuna panted, mentally berating herself for freezing up.

"Not like you to freeze up in combat like that Asuna!"

Asuna looked to her side to see Klein's grinning face. A feeling of small relief washed over her to see a familiar face after just nearly an hour of fighting.

Kouichirou let of a deep breath of relief, before turning to glare at the mage responsible.

Only to noticed he was gone.

"Shit…!" Kouichirou looked around in a panic. He had just allowed an SS-rank criminal to escape! He had to find him!

"Kouichirou Yuuki…"

"Huh?" The templar turned back to see Asuna approaching him with her head down, staring at the ground. "Asuna, what's wrong?"

Asuna sighed slightly, both mentally and physically exhausted. "I'm sorry for getting in your way of fighting, Vice Captain."

Kouichirou blinked, before chuckling and patting his younger sister's head. "Don't worry about it Asuna, I'm just relieved you're safe."

However, not to his surprise, Asuna simply move his arm away. Her expression showed no emotion. "Yes. Well, thank you for your concern." She begin to walk away from the site. "We need to check up on the others. Once again, I thank you for your assistance Vice Captain."

The older Yuuki frowned. It seemed the barriers between him and his sister was still as strong as ever…

Klein shook his head as Asuna passed by him, ignoring his presence. He placed a hand behind his head tiredly. "Kouichirou-san… sorry about all this. We hadn't expected the mission to turn out like this."

"Then why didn't you send more members with the infiltration team to prepare?"

Klein flinched at the tone Kouichirou was using, and the glare didn't help. "We were trying to remain secretive. If we sent anymore, we'd risk getting found out."

The younger boy's glare seemed to lighten up a bit at hearing the reason. The Wings of Searph did have good infiltration records, so it was responsible to see why they got over their heads.

"Still though…" Kouchirou started, an unreadable experrsion crossing his face. "I don't approve of this reckless behavior. I have to talk about this with Konno-san, and I'm sure Captain's going to as well."

Klein nodded, already getting a headache. "Alright, but we need to get to her first. She went after Kirito, and I think your sister is already half way there."

"Yes, well we need to get a move on. Nothing we can do about the one who escaped, I can't track him." Kouichirou started down the alleyway with Klein following him shortly afterwards.

* * *

South Algade was far from a quiet place, but the noise had been crazy today. One of the reasons involved a certain half-elf fighting for his life against a crazed ninja.

Kirito boots skidded across the ground as he halted to a stop. He panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Don't stop now!"

Before he knew it, Koyuki's grinning face appeared in front of him, weapon at the ready. Kirito held up both of his swords in a X-formation, as the polearm striking dead in the middle, the force pushing Kirito back.

Kirito's arms dropped to the side, exhaustion beginning to overcome him. _'Damn… how did she get so strong?' _He had managed to fight with Koyuki toe to toe earlier, but now she seemed to be both stronger and faster.

Was she using some sort of support spell?

…Or had she been holding back?

Now that he thought about it, what was this girl's rank? She seemed at the most four years older than him, so it couldn't be that high… could it?

'_Still though… I can't retreat.__' _Kirito begin to push mana into his arms to give them strength. _'My reaction speed is higher, and her attacks are becoming straight forward. I have to stay one step ahead.'_

With that, he ran towards her, blades dragging slightly across the ground. He swung the one in his left towards her leg, but she simply moved it. He spun around with the right, only for her to use her pole arm to block it. Kirito gritted his teeth jumping back.

"Hmph!" Koyuki went on the offensive, swinging her nagianta in a wide horizontal arch. Kirito manage to stop it, blocking the weapon with Dark Repulser, and stabbing towards her with Elucidator. Koyuki snarled, kicking him in the stomach and pushing him back.

Kirito gasped in pain, kneeling to the ground. _'Damn kick must have had mana in it.' _He looked up, expecting to see Koyuki charging at him only to notice she was gone. _'Where did she go?!' _His eyes darted around, looking for the ninja.

"_Looking for me?"_

Kirito's eyes widened as he swung his swords behind him, only hitting air. "What the-guh!"

He stopped as he felt a pain shoot through his chest. Blood hit the floor as he gasped, looking down to notice a naginata going through his chest.

"Game over…" He heard Koyuki whisper in his ear.

The ninja was grinning widely, pleased with herself. She had just had the one of the best battles in her life and had won. Not to mention, she had been paid handsomely for it.

"Heh."

Koyuki raised an eyebrow at the dying and chuckling half-elf. "What are you laughing about?"

Kirito smirked widely beginning to dissolve in smoke, shocking the ninja. "That you, a ninja, fell right into my trap."

Before Koyuki could react, Kirito exploded into a cloud of smoke obscuring her vision as she attempted to see. _'An illusion?!'_

"Owa!"

Pain. That was all Koyuki felt as her back seemed to explode as two swords went right through her chest and were pulled out, blood spilling from the wounds. She wasn't able to scream or gasp, as she fell to the ground, her eyes widen in shock.

Kirito stood behind her, panting from exhaustion. However, he knew better than to be relieved. He was right, as Koyuki begin to dissolve into a puddle of blood.

'_I knew any skilled ninja wouldn't fall for something like that. Okay where is she hiding now?'_

"Wow, I'm really impressed right now!" The voice he had grown accustomed to the past hour called out. He looked up to see Koyuki, sitting on a street lamp grinning widely.

Kirito's spat a little blood, relaxing into his stance. He didn't know how much Koyuki had left in her, nor did he know how much more damage he could take. Still, he wouldn't back down. He was far from being defeated.

However, Koyuki simply raised a hand to his confusion. She smirked, standing up on the pole.

"How about you and me call it a draw for right now?"

Kirito raised an eyebrow. What was up with her? She had just been trying to kill him earlier, crazed for battle, and now she wanted a draw.

Koyuki, almost as if she could read his mind continued. "You have potential from what I can tell. No wonder my client wanted me to fight you. However, if we continue you'll end up dead." She chuckled. "And I don't have much time left before Ran breaks through my illusion…"

"Illusion?" Kirito repeated, taken aback. What was she talking about?

Koyuki laughed in amusement. "And they say you're proficient in illusions! Then again, this type of illusion takes a lot of skill to recognize." She jumped down, causing Kirito to be on guard. "You notice how there's no people around us? That's because I trapped us in a wide barrier that causes an illusion."

"Why would you do something like that?" Kirito asked in confusion. Why would she waste power to form an unneeded barrier?

"Even as a criminal, I have some morals." Koyuki's tone lost all hints of playfulness or pride. "I'm not going to risk killing innocent civilians just for a fight. That's why I made sure the area was clear before blowing it up, and telling my teammates to fight in abandoned areas."

Kirito felt a hint of respect for the ninja now.

"Anyway, I've been holding back this entire time. I could kill you right now if I wanted." Koyuki said, regaining her battle lust tone. "But why do that, when you'll get better? So I'll let you walk and you can brag to your little friends you drawed with a SSS-rank."

'_SSS-rank?!' _Kirito's eyes went wide, as Koyuki snickered.

"Guess I forgot to mention that huh?" Koyuki grinned wildly, the blood on her face adding effect. "So go get stronger, so we can have even more fun next time."

A glint shined in her eye as she leaned in close to Kirito's ear. _"It'd be a shame if I had to kill such a cutie so easy… because I like it rough." _

A red color formed on Kirito's cheeks and it only increased as she gave him a peck on the cheek. _'This girl is crazy…'_

A cracking sound interrupted his thoughts as the two looked up to see to see cracks form along the sky. Koyuki grinned as it shattered like glass, drops of mana hitting the ground like rain.

"Should have known you be here Koyuki."

Koyuki shrugged, smiling smugly, at the approaching Ran. "What can I say? A girl's got to earn a living."

"And that involves attack my guild?"

"Details. Details. Anyway, it's time for me to jet, so later!"

"You think I'll let you get away?!" Ran charged towards her, sword drawn, but Koyuki disappeared into a puff of smoke as soon as she got close.

"You're still too slow Ran-chan!" Koyuki's teasing voice came from above, as everyone looked to see her on top of a building away from them. "See you all later, especially you, Kirito…"

She grinned, winking towards Kirito before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Ran watched the smoke evaporate in the air, already getting a headache. Hearing footsteps, she saw Eugeo and Lyfa helping an injured Argo walk.

Eugeo turned towards her, his expression grave. "I'm sorry Captain. But the criminal got away."

"Same here." A female voice interjected. Everyone turn to see Asuna walking towards them out of the alleys, Klein and another face that the younger Seraphs didn't recognize following behind her.

Ran recognizing the stranger and his uniform, let out a sigh.

'_Even now, you still make my life hell… Koyuki.'_

* * *

_**This is the pre-beta version, so please excuse any bad grammar.**_

_**Could not think of a good title for this chapter... lol.**_

_**My apologies on the lateness of this chapter. Life has been a pain for me lately, so I've had distractions. **_

_**If anyone is worried about more main OCs, don't be. Koyuki and her crew won't be appearing very often, just making random appearances here and there. Besides, I have to expand on the SSS-ranks a bit more. Most are canon characters though.**_

_**I hoped you've enjoyed the chapter, and I will see when I can get the beta'd version out. Review if anything sounds weird or contradicting, or if you've enjoyed the chapter. **_

_**Peace Out.**_


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